Adventures of Tash and John Ch. 05

It would be on the outskirts of the town, on a hill. Maybe one of the ones he was looking at right now. They could have an enclosed porch. Something to sit in and sip tea and chat while they watched the rain. Maybe a large bedroom, with a bay window that faced out towards the valley. Providing a view in which he could watch the rustling leaves of the trees or the clouds dart across the sky. A view where he could enjoy the beauty of nature as well as the beauty of a certain light tan skinned individual, completely naked laying on the bed, beckoning him over with that sultry smile of hers... They stopped. This must be it then, he thought. Tash was hesitating and honestly he couldn't blame her, he was a little hesitant himself. He gave her hand a squeeze, hopefully conveying his reassurance to her through the gesture. With a large breath in and out Tash opened the door and lead him through.

"Good morning, Tashaiea!" A voice came out of what looked like one of the adjoining offices of the small waiting room. "I'll be right out!" Good to their word, not more than ten seconds later a middle aged looking Kai'ani woman walked into the room.

"Good morning Aunt Nialaiea." Tashaiea said with what looked like a forced smile.

The approaching woman smiled back at her niece, and then at him. The pleasant expression continued while she appeared to, not very subtly, inspect him from head to toe. She spoke after a moments contemplation.

"You must be John." She said, giving what seemed like a slight nod of approval before looking back at Tash. "I think I can see the appeal, Tashaiea."

The younger Kai'ani chuckled nervously. John decided to speak up to attempt to take spotlight off of his lover.

"It's a plea... nice to meet you." John said in English, quickly correcting himself as to not create another case of mistaken words.

"You as well. I have to say I've been looking forward to this." The older woman said before composing herself. "I'm Vakal Kenta Nialaiea, doctor of Kai'ani reproductive systems health and general medical wellness. I suppose you know why I requested you be here today?"

He nodded. "I've been told you need to examine me and run some tests."

"Exactly." The doctor confirmed. "Please, come into my exam room and we can get started."

Nialaiea motioned towards a slightly open door just to her side. Tash lead him inside, followed up quickly by the doctor. The exam room looked pretty much like any other medical room that John had ever been in. Various screens and machines found homes attached to the walls and ceiling, and of course the exam chair in the middle of it all. Nialaiea quickly took a seat on a rolling chair and retrieved a tablet looking object from a wall drawer. She detached a small handheld device from one side and held it up for John to see.

"This is a sub-dermal imager." She explained. "I'm going to use it to look inside your body. It is completely noninvasive and you won't feel anything except for perhaps a slight warmth." The doctor continued. "Now, I'm going to need you to remove your clothing before we begin as part of the examination is visual."

John nodded and began taking off his shirt as he was requested to, much to Tash's discomfort it seemed. She didn't interfere however. It was probably just some biological/cultural reaction to having her mate expose themselves to another female. It didn't bother him though. He had been poked, prodded and examined by so many doctors, both male and female, that any sense of 'shame' had long since been forgotten. By the time his pants had started to come off John could see Tash's aunts curiosity begin to peak. When his leg braces were fully exposed it would seem that Nialaiea couldn't help but stare. Before John could head off the questions, the doctor had already spoken up.

"What is the purpose of those?" She asked, pointing to his braces.

"I need them to walk." He said as he removed one and handed it to her. "I was crippled during one of my deployments when I was in the army. The surgeons weren't able to completely repair all the nerve damage and the rehabilitation process was only able to do so much. As long as I wear them I can walk and even run almost as well as any normal person with functional legs."

"Fascinating." She said as she examined the brace. "Your admittance profile mentioned that you were a retired soldier, but I didn't know it was a medical retirement. Do you still feel any pain from it?"

"Occasionally they ache, but mostly the nerves are dead so it's just numb." He replied, now sitting on the edge of the exam chair while he took his other brace off.

"I see." Nialaiea said, quickly tapping something on her tablet. He had little doubt she was adding a note about his legs. Most likely doing what any good doctor would do and document everything. "Once you are finished undressing, please lay back so that I can start the exam."

John acknowledged with a slight nod and after removing the last pieces of his decency (with the exception of his translator), did as she requested. He took a quick look over to his girlfriend sitting quietly in a chair against the far wall, a look of definite discomfort in her expressions. A mental smirk flashed through his thoughts. Her mate undressing in front of another woman was probably uncomfortable for her, but now here he was, completely nude with this other woman hovering just beside him. John thought about teasing her about it, but thought better of it. Figuring that the smoother everything went, the less stressful the whole ordeal might be.

"I'm going to begin now." Tash's aunt said, bringing John's mind back to the present. "Let me know if you feel any discomfort."

He nodded and then spoke. "Are you familiar with Human anatomy at all?" He questioned, not really expecting the answer to be a hard yes.

"I reviewed all the information that your embassy had, which I will admit was not complete." She said, confirming John's suspicions. "I have requested a full medical text, however it won't be here for a few days yet. It's my hope that I can fill the role of an emergency doctor for you while you are here. The closest xeno-medical experts are in Hokam, so it's my plan to be able to treat you before they can come to take you to proper care. Only if it comes to that however."

John was intrigued. It certainly wasn't something he was expecting, however he supposed that it did make sense. "I appreciate it." He said before continuing. "But if you don't mind me asking, why?"

Nialaiea chuckled and let out a small sigh. "I'm going to be honest with you, it's partly for selfish reasons." She admitted. "Xenobiology has always interested me, however reproductive sciences interest me more, as you can probably see. With you though I have a chance to explore that interest., even if it is limited." The older woman smiled and looked over at her niece, who was fidgeting with her shoulder bag. "The other part is for Tashaiea." That caught her attention as she immediately perked up. "You are obviously important to her, and since I care for her I want to make sure I can care for you as well."

"Well thank you, I appreciate it." John said giving a nod in his Kai'ani lovers direction. "And I know Tash appreciates it too, right babe?."

"Umm, oh, yes, of course I do." The younger woman said, the signature green flush of embarrassment slowly filling her face. She shifted uncomfortably while she spoke. "I really do Nialaiea, thank you. For everything."

Nialaiea let out an amused huff and focused her attention back on John. She eyed him for a moment, probably now realizing the relationship dynamic between the two of them, then picked up her scanner and held it close to the top of his head.

"Well, lets get started then." She said, touching a button on the side of the device.

An arguably very clear image of the inside of his head was projected onto a screen on the wall in front of him. John had to admit, he had never seen the inside of his brain before. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. The doctor continued on for another second and then stopped. On the screen was a small yet clearly visible round object that most certainly looked out of place. She hovered over it.

"John, what is this device?" She asked, the curiosity in her voice was quite obvious. "Some kind of neural implant?"

"Not quite." He admitted. "It was part of the recovery from my surgery. The doctors installed it to administer small doses of chemicals directly into my brain." John could see that Nialaiea didn't look completely convinced by his explanation, so he continued. "During my stay in the hospital I was not in a good state mentally. I was diagnosed with what we call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The device was installed to help me manage my depressive states during my rehabilitation." He said, making a vague dismissing gesture. "It's probably inert by now. That was all a few years ago."

He heard Tashaiea gasp and looked over to see her with one hand pressed against her mouth. A look of almost terrified concern flashed over her. It was almost the exact same reaction as when he had told her about his accident the first time, only now probably multiplied by months mutual love and closeness. He had never told her about his PTSD. Honestly because he didn't like to talk about it. How he got the leg braces, now that was an interesting story. As painful as it was it could now be seen as a story of success. A testament to his resolve and willpower to overcome a life altering hurdle. But the soul crushing depression, the suicidal thoughts, his attempts to give it all up... that was not something he wanted anyone but himself to know about. Not because he wanted to hide it and shove it all in some dark corner to be forgotten about. He didn't want to dwell on it because his successes overshadowed the doubts by a million percent, and he was determined to not let it drag him down again. Never again.

"I see." Nialaiea mused. "I may be able to get it scheduled to be removed if you like."

John smiled. "I don't see a point really. It doesn't bother me and I had honestly forgot it was there until you brought it up." He admitted.

"Well if you are fine with it and it's inert and doesn't bother you, then I would say surgery to remove it is unnecessary." Nialaiea said in a very doctor-ly fashion. "Anyways, lets continue. Do you have any other implants or devices in your body that you know about?"

"Yes actually." He replied, quickly taking a mental inventory of his various 'after market' parts. "I have an implant in my left arm that was used to administer pain medication and a small radio frequency identification chip in my right hand that was from my time with the army. Both should be nonfunctional. Oh, and also metal rods and plates in my legs as well." John said, fairly certain he had remembered them all.

"Okay, I'll make a note of them." Nialaiea said as she tapped some things on her tablet. She set down her scanner on the table beside her and turned to look directly at him. "I feel like I should have asked this earlier, but I have never dealt with a Human combat casualty before so I didn't realize I had these questions until just now." She said with a soft sigh and what John could decipher as an apologetic hand gesture. He gave her a nod, letting her know it was alright to continue. "If you don't mind I would like to ask if you have ever been administered anything other than pain medication and behavioral correction drugs. For example, does the Human military administer combat enhancement drugs to their soldiers? Things like that."

"Not to my knowledge." John responded as honestly as he could. For all he knew he could have been slipped something during one of his physicals, but if they did no one had ever mentioned it. "I've been given anti-nausea medication before rough drops, and muscle density and anti-atrophy medications during long operations in micro-gravity. But nothing 'combat enhancing' that I know of. At least not in my old unit." He paused for a moment, double checking his memory to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything. He was confident he wasn't. "Yeah, I'm fairly certain we weren't given anything 'combat enhancing'. Special forces sure, but nothing for us regular soldiers."

"Understood." The doctor said, picking her tablet back up and tapping away at it. After a brief moment she refocused on him and gave her Human patient a serious stare. John found himself unwittingly tensing at the look and tried to force calm his muscles before it became to obvious. Nialaiea's tone matched her gaze. "This is not something I normally ask my patients, and I believe this may be the first time ever but since I am venturing into the unknown I feel it prudent to ask. I hope you do not take this as an insult but... Are you artificially genetically modified in any way? And please be honest, it may be important."

John found himself letting out a quiet sigh of relief. That was all the death look was about? Genetic modification? A chuckle escaped his lips, much to the apparent dismay of the doctor. He quickly regained his composure and answered. "Yes, I have the standard immune system booster that pretty much all Human children get while they are still in the womb. Anything else is dependent on the parent's choices, but as far as I know I only got the standard immune enhancements and gene screening." He answered as truthfully as he could. His parents had decided to go the more traditionalists route, so the minimum recommended had been enough for their children. It wasn't like they had the money for full on custom tailored children anyways. Looking back on it, it was something in which John was grateful for.

"Well... I suppose that's alright." Nialaiea said with a hint of... disapointment? Disgust? He couldn't really tell. Regardless, she obviously wasn't as pleased as she had been previously. "It's not like you had a choice in the matter I suppose. And it's unlikely to have any serious effects on the tests with a modification that small. We'll continue on with the scan now."

Nailaiea retrieved the palm device she had previously used and continued on where she had left off. The previous lighthearted atmosphere of the room had tapered off, leaving behind an awkward silence of sorts. John was mentally scratching his head to figure out what he had done wrong. Tash had started to give him very worrying looks, and if it was possible she looked even more uncomfortable than she previously had. Then it dawned on him. A conversation he had with Tash months ago, something he had thought was interesting cultural curiosity when she had told him, but not really important enough to commit to memory. As it were, there were no genetically modified Kai'ani. Their existence was illegal and strictly regulated. The societal eugenics practices were fine, encouraged and backed by a thousand years of tradition. But any genetic modification was seen as immoral and a crime against nature.

John wasn't entirely sure what he should do. Apologize? Would that even make a difference? Was Tash going to see him as some kind of freak now? Nialaiea had been right though. It wasn't like he had any control over it. So why should it bother him? Fetal modification was just standard operating procedure where he came from. In the end, just relaxing and letting the doctor do her scan was probably in his best interest. If he had anything to be concerned about, it was how Tash was taking everything in. A cursory glance showed the slender built woman nervously fiddling with her hair. Normally she would just let it fall back and not mess with it, maybe only tying it back if the situation absolutely called for it. However now she was actively pulling it over her shoulder, braiding it between her fingers up to some arbitrarily defined point before smoothing it out and starting again. If it was a nervous habit, it was one that he had never seen before.

Sort of endearing if it wasn't for the mental stress that he knew his lover was undoubtedly subjecting herself to. Hopefully her fears would end up completely unjustified. He leaned his head back, letting it rest on the cool fabric of the chair, allowing his eyes close as he did so. It wasn't his intent to sleep, but to just try and stay as relaxed as possible. Especially since the doctor was now coming up on his groin. He tried to fight an erection as best as he could as the pleasantly warm sensation of the scanner passed over. He managed it, just barely. It probably wouldn't have been that big of a deal, seeing as how Nialaiea would have dealt with this kind of thing all the time. It was her profession after all. No, it was more a matter of personal decency to him rather than anything overly sexual. Not long after the scan was complete. Nialaiea attached the scanner to her tablet and placed it on the closest counter she could reach. She then retrieved a new tool from the menagerie of medical equipment that hung from the ceiling, showing it to him.

"I'm going to use this to take a physical sample of your blood." She explained, holding the new device in a way that John could inspect it. "Where would be the ideal place for you for me to take it from?"

"The veins in my arm are probably the easiest to get to." He replied, offering the underside of his right one for her inspection.

She took a moment and then agreed. Placing the rectangular shaped extractor over his veins and adjusting it until she was satisfied. "You will feel a small prick." She said, just before depressing a button on its side. The sensation was so light that John barely felt it, and after the device was removed the only thing that marked the location was a small white dot no bigger than the head of a needle. The doctor took a moment to examine it. A small window in the container showed the crimson red liquid inside. Nialaiea then rolled herself over to one of the cabinets that was just parallel to Tash and placed the container inside. She did something that John couldn't see and then rolled herself back over to his side.

"It will take a few minutes to run the analysis, so you can redress now. I have all the data I'll need." Tash's aunt stated, a tinge of triumph in her voice.

John couldn't help but let his curiosity get the better of him. "What kind of results are you expecting?" He asked, reattaching his leg braces as he did so.

"Well I already have Tashaiea's samples analyzed and I've discovered some interesting processes. And now that I have yours I just need to do some comparisons and allow the computer to build a model..."

She trailed off for a moment, stealing a glance at her niece. She sighed and rolled over to grab her tablet. She tapped something and the image on the monitor changed. The image was all in Teheki script. John had taken off his translator so he could put his shirt back on, so it was, for the moment, completely and totally alien. Nialaiea had begun talking again, so as quickly as he could the still partially naked Human put the translator earpiece on, just in time to see the most relieved looking facial expression that he had ever seen Tash make.

"... perfectly fine. The extra hormones are causing no discernible problems. In fact, we may have just stumbled on a very interesting medical anomaly." Nialaiea said, gesturing towards the monitor.

"Through whatever biological differences it would seem that the dominant Human male hormone reacts with the dominant K-hormones of Kai'ani females, seemingly telling the body that it has an excess of chemicals that it can use to create new ones. It's most likely a case of mixed signals coming from John's hormones, which is sometimes the case with non-native chemicals." She turned to face her niece. "Tashaiea, I'm not sure you will be able to appreciate this but, you may have just helped discover a new way to treat hormone imbalances. Especially in older women."