Doctor on Duty

"You were 15 when you became a doctor? How old were you when you started college?" asked Robin.

"Started undergrad at 12, finished at 13, started med school, finished at 15, started my residency, finished at 17, and then got my board certification in Diagnostics with a double specialty of infectious diseases and nephrology." I said before looking at them all with their mouths wide open.

Looking to sit down, and give them some time to reboot, I grabbed a lone chair and brought it to the booth. Marshall, Lily, and Ted sat on my right, and on my left sat Barney and Robin.

Finishing my drink while they continued processing the info dump about my life, I waved the waitress down and ordered a round of their most expensive scotch for the group—some Glen McKenna 50-year.

"Wait did you just order a round of the most expensive scotch in the bar?" asked Ted who was one of the first to finish processing.

"Yeah. I had the 35-year earlier and it was good, so I wanted to taste the 50-year. And it's not fun to drink by yourself, well that's not true it is fun sometimes. But this is to celebrate our meeting. I mean what are the chances that in a city as big as New York I run into you and then Barney back to back?" I said before thanking and paying the waitress who came over with our drinks.

"To new friends and old." I said before we cheered.

"Oh yeah. That's the stuff. I definitely need to buy myself a bottle of that." I said admiring the scotch.

"So I know Ted's an architect, what do the rest of you do?" I asked the group.

"Haha, please." said Barney.

"Well, I'm a news anchor at Metro News 1." responded Robin.

"Whoa, that's a big-time news channel, that's impressive."

"Thanks, it's no youngest doctor ever, but I enjoy my job."

"What about the married couple?" I asked Marshall and Lily.

"How'd you know we were married?" asked Lily.

"Well besides the fact you're both wearing matching rings, I saw you playing footsies with each other." I said with a smile.

"Well, that's a little embarrassing." said Marshall.

"No, it's actually quite nice. You don't see many couples who've been married as long as you two have still show so much affection to one another."

"How can you tell they've been together for a long time?" asked Ted.

"Their rings are a little old and worn. They don't look antique so I'm guessing they've been married a while. And seeing as they're not divorced or indifferent to one another suggests that they were together for a while before they got married. Those who get married before they get to really know the person they're dating don't last long enough for the rings to get like that."

"You're a really good detective." said Lily.

"Well diagnostics is more of an art than a science so, observation is key. You start to notice the little things that are left unsaid or unseen. You make small links between information to figure out what's really going on in someone's body." I explained to them.

"That's so awesome." said Barney.

"Haha, thanks. But, back on topic, I didn't get to hear about your professions." I said while chuckling at Barney's reaction.

"I'm an environmental lawyer and Lily's a kindergarten teacher."

"Two people shaping our world's future, huh? Kudos to both of you."

"Well, shaping our world's future is a little more grandiose than what I'm doing but actually yeah I am shaping our world's future." he said humbly before playing into it which we all laughed at.

"What about you Lily? You like being a teacher?"

"Yeah, I went through a bit of a crisis a few years back, but I ended up realizing that being a teacher is something I'm passionate about."

"That's good to hear. I could never be a teacher, I don't think I have the patience for it."

"Trust me, you get used to it. After dealing with little kids screaming for so long, the noise gets drowned out. But it is nice to see their innocent little smiles."

"Even more kudos to you then." I said before taking a sip of my drink.

TRING

Lily's phone began to ring which she promptly answered and talked on the phone for a minute or so before she hung up and looked at Marshall.

"Oh baby we have to go, Marvin's throwing up." she said to Marshall.

"Oh man, I thought we were free for tonight." he said before getting ready to go.

"You two have a baby?" I asked.

"Yeah, baby Marvin. He's only 6 months old."

"If he's throwing up, I could take a look at him if you want." I offered.

"No, I'm sure it's nothing."

"Marshall, a genius doctor is offering to take a look at our baby to make sure nothing's wrong with him and you're turning him down? What's the matter with you?" said Lily scolding Marshall.

"Lily, I'm sure Marvin's just throwing up like any baby, and besides I don't want to disturb him with something so trivial."

"Marshall, so help me god-" she said before Marshall relented and turned back to me.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Matt. It's just ever since the baby's come along Lily's been a little overprotective of Marvin."

"Haha. It's no bother, after all, I did offer. And besides your wife's feelings of overprotectiveness are natural. A brand new mother is flooded with hormones that cause them to be protective over the baby since from a biological perspective the next generation is more important than the mother." I said before following them out.

"So do we need to take a cab somewhere?" I asked.

"No, we live right upstairs." they said before going up the steps.

"Well, that's convenient."

"Yeah like you wouldn't believe. Get drunk at the bar, no problem we live right upstairs. I think that's why we chose this place to be honest." said Marshall.

~~

After entering the apartment and introducing myself to Mickey, Lily's dad, he handed me the baby to look at.

"How long has he been throwing up?" I asked Mickey while checking the baby's pulse and listening to his heartbeat before I turned on my Perspective Minimum to quickly check him out.

'Hmm, nothing wrong with the muscle system. Let me look through all of them to be safe.' I thought before cycling through all of them and only seeing a faint weak point in his throat, most likely from the vomiting.

"He started throwing up a few minutes before I called Lily. But I thought it was normal, I mean he's a baby." he answered a little nervous for his grandchild.

"Yes, usually there is no cause to worry. How many times did he vomit, what was the color, how much did he vomit, and how forceful was it?" I asked.

"Three times, color was white, he vomited the same amount he usually does, and it was a little forceful. Not a spit up but not projectile, more like regular vomiting." he answered.

"Is he okay? Is there something wrong with him?" asked Lily worried that there might actually be something wrong with Marvin.

"What did you feed him before he started throwing up?"

"Just breast milk."

"Hmm." I said before checking his nostrils and then touching his forehead with the back of my hand.

"So, is he okay?" asked Marshall.

"He's fine. He's a little warmer than he should be but it's not a fever so that's good. His nose is a little plugged which I'm assuming is the cause of his vomiting. He just has a common cold, no need to worry." I said before handing Lily her baby back.

"Oh thank god. But he's a little young to have a cold isn't he?" asked Lily.

"If he was two months younger, I would have to agree. But since he's 6 months old, he's fine. Just remember to give him sufficient breast milk or formula and try to keep his sinuses clear with a rubber bulb syringe. His cold should break in a few days, but if it doesn't then I would take him to the hospital." I said reassuring the new parents.

"Thank you, Matt. Sorry for taking you away from the group and ruining your evening." said Marshall.

"Hey don't worry about it. I'm just glad it wasn't more serious. Besides, you guys made a cute kid, I'm sure he'll grow up to be a fine kid. But, in case anything does happen here is my card. Don't hesitate to call." I said before handing them my card.

"Thank you, Matt. We'll try not to bother you, but you know." he said using his eyes to point toward Lily before she slapped his arm to which I laughed.

~~

Back at the bar, it was just Barney, Ted, Robin, and I shooting the shit. Unfortunately, Chloe hadn't shown up for some reason and she didn't respond to any of my texts.

"Excuse us, are you Matt Garetty?" asked someone who came up to our table.

"Yes. How can I help you?" I asked a little confused until I noticed who I was talking to.

"I'm Detective Benson, this is my partner Detective Amaro. We have some questions we'd like to ask you."

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AN

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