Who saved Who?

Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Infirmary Evening Shift

Chapter Description: Dr. Ambrose is expecting a quiet night, but those plans are spoiled by the arrival of a man with a hysterical Little

Dr. Ambrose O'Sullivan had a long night. Nothing really happened during the day shift he had been told and it was quiet for the first half hour or so but then he heard something…..was someone crying? Maybe? Yes, yes there was someone crying, the sound was growing stronger, as crying was wont to do when you were in the infirmary. Ambrose got up from the chair he had been seated at, alternating between doing paperwork and reading a new fantasy novel on his datapad. He opened the door to the infirmary and the sound got much louder.

He saw a Sergeant come around the corner holding a sobbing Little, in all likelihood his newest patient. Ambrose waited until the Sergeant was almost to the door so he didn’t have to shout over the wailing Little “What happened?”
The man did a half shrug to not disturb his cargo too much “We don’t really know, he was working alone and someone heard him crying, when he was found the whole lab was a mess like a tornado had come through and this guy was curled up in the corner, they sent for me, I’m his CO, he had a really hard day on top of whatever happened in the workshop when he was alone, when no one could calm him it was time to bring him here.” the man said with a sigh. He was rubbing his hand in circles on the boy’s back trying to soothe him.

“The correct course of action, let’s get him looked at, can you set him on this table Sergeant…….” Ambrose stepped toward one of the two exam tables, gesturing at it as he spoke.

“Russell, Rodney Russell, you can call me Rodney, here we go” he spoke as he walked over and started trying to pull Felix away from his body, he tried to lean and lower him to the table but Felix clung tighter to his jacket collar. Rodney tried for another few moments to dislodge the Little from his neck before…

“It’s okay you can hold him while I talk to him,” Dr O’Sullivan frowned, looking more like Maturosis over temporary panic “Just shift him till he can see over your shoulder”. Rodney complied scooting Felix’s body higher, his frame essentially weightless to the Amazonian. Ambrose got to see the LIttle’s face for the first time, he had tear-streaked flushed cheeks and had snot coming out his right nostril, his crying was earnest and pure, another sign of Maturosis, Ambrose smiled kindly at the boy but the boys’ eyes seemed barely to focus even through all the tears. “His name?”

“Oh sorry, this is IT Specialist Felix Barnkind”

“No worries. Specialist Barnkind, how do you feel? Are you injured?” The sobbing continued “Felix I need you to answer me, are you injured?” more crying. Nothing to do for now. “Don’t worry buddy we are gonna take good care of you,” he said with the kindest voice he could muster, he hated seeing anyone but especially Littles suffer, they always seemed so innocent, ”This looks like Advanced Maturosis”

The Sergeant gave a deep sigh “I was worried of that…….may I ask, I was awful harsh with not two hours ago…..”

“You can stop right there,” Dr. Ambrose (as many patients called him) said with a small smile moving to the medicine cabinet and unlocking it “While it is kind and a noble thought to wonder if something you did caused a Little’s expression of Maturosis, but what case studies have told us, especially those with less advanced cases of Maturosis, it has been proven that it is an inevitability for those who it presents in, if it hadn’t been today it may been tomorrow or next week but it wouldn’t have been very long studies have shown” 

Ambrose spoke as he withdrew a sterile Little syringe and a bottle of sedatives appropriate for a Little, he finished his explanation as he drew a shot up into the chamber, he then set the syringe down on the counter for a moment and turned back toward the Sergeant and his wailing charge. “Alright I’ve prepared a sedative that will help him sleep through the night, it can be traumatic to adjust to new functioning levels.” Ambrose moved forward and snaked his hands in between the LIttle and the Sergeant unbuckling the boy's belt buckle, “Hold him if he struggles” Ambrose said, to be especially careful of administering the shot perfectly, he used both hands and pulled the boy's pants and underpants halfway down his buttocks.

“‘I’m assuming this can’t be in the arm?” Rodney asked semi-rhetorically, curious.

“Unfortunately yes especially for Littles the gluteus is the best and safest place to administer a sedative” Ambrose quickly picked up the syringe and squeezed out the minimum required to fill the needle tip, acting quickly as Felix started struggling in the Sergeant's arms. Felix’s cries strengthened for a short period after his injection in his pale butt cheek before they started quieting and quickly, within ninety seconds of the injection he fell into a solid slumber, slumping limply against Rodney’s chest and shoulder.

The din was suddenly gone, and it seemed incredibly quiet despite the storm raging outside. “Alright, you can set him down over here now,” Ambrose led Rodney to the corner of the Infirmary where there were several Littles cribs.

Rodney laid him down as gently as he could, cradling his head as he lowered him. “You have experience with Littles.” Ambrose half observed half queried.

“I do, I have two nephews my sister adopted years ago, and I babysit when I’m available so she and my brother-in-law can have date night” Rodney paused, unsure of what to do next.

“I’ll finish his intake in the morning and make the final diagnosis, if you want you can visit him tomorrow, my shift was scheduled for noon but I think I’ll come in and cover the morning shift too so there isn’t someone else here when he wakes up.”

Rodney’s expression brightened somewhat “I’d really enjoy that, I’ll be by sometime tomorrow afternoon.”

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After that despite everything being much quieter Ambrose had much to do he carefully started unbuttoning Felix’s shirt, starting at the top he finished unbuttoning the cream-colored button-up shirt. He removed the belt which remained unbuckled from before, and he tugged the undone pants down and off the legs of the sleeping figure. 

Felix was left in his unbuttoned shirt and a white undershirt, Ambrose was surprised to find Felix clad in briefs. All enlisted Littles were required to wear and issued white underpants to clear any arguments of a little trying to hide an accident, but of the three options nearly all Littles chose boxer briefs or boxers, often taking any chance to be an adult, and briefs had always been erroneously viewed as children’s underwear.

He was even more surprised to see that his patients’ bladder hadn’t loosened with the initial onset of the sedative, this was rather uncommon, as ninety percent of sedated Littles instantly became incontinent. This either meant his bladder was empty or he had exceptional bladder control.

Happy that he didn’t have to deal with an initial cleanup he quickly pulled the unspoiled underwear off the boy and grabbed a nighttime diaper from below unfolding it. Best not to try my luck, even if he is already in the one percent for bladder control, he thought as he gripped the boy's ankles with his left hand and lifted his bottom off the mattress, sliding the diaper into position with his right hand.

He inspects the boy's tush making sure it’s clean, finding it pristine before lowering his hips onto the thick garment. He grabbed the baby powder from above, applying a liberal dose to the boy’s genitals and inner thighs. “Not too much pubic hair but should be removed within the next couple of days to prevent skin issues” he muttered to himself. Satisfied, he raised the middle flap up and over the boy's crotch and gripped the wings, securing them onto the landing pad tightly.

Perfect, now he was free to continue his exam, he started methodically checking the boy’s body ensuring he was not physically injured, right as he finished concluding his patient was uninjured, he saw a portion of the wetness indicator on the garment vanish. Ambrose smiled “Couldn’t hold out forever could you?” He said softly, chuckling. He checked his watch, impressed, that it had taken until the sedatives were fully affecting his system for his muscles to relax.

Before he could leave Felix to focus on paperwork he attached a Little monitor to the boy's wrist so that he could monitor his vitals. After all, you never know when someone is going to have an adverse or atypical response to a drug. He then started on the semi-extensive paperwork involved with declaring one of the sailors to have Maturosis, there was a part of the paperwork that would have to be filled out by whoever found Felix initially and his CO. 

Ambrose finished most of the paperwork he could tonight. Luckily most of it was digital so if there was a change in his state tomorrow he could modify it before submitting it, he saved what he had worked on so far and pulled up Felix’s file in its entirety.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, it all lined up with a Little who joined the military, had an altruistic personality, and was evaluated as not a combatant. There was an asterisk in his education history though……bringing up the note, Ambrose saw that it was a note created by his first-year computer sciences teacher at the military training academy he attended before deployment.

**Almost definitely on the Autism Spectrum, doesn’t currently warrant a diagnosis, doesn’t impair his life significantly**

Ambrose’s eyes nearly rolled out of his head, it was such an old-fashioned ableist idea to decide someone doesn't need diagnosis or education simply because they are “doing well”. Ambrose added Autism Spectrum Evaluation to the list of daily tasks tomorrow, most of which had to do with determining Felix’s future. Autism huh? As an offhand thought, Ambrose wondered if that would have influenced his choice to wear the same underwear he likely had worn growing up.

After finishing up with all the preliminary paperwork he could, Ambrose saved everything to Felix’s file and set about his regular duties. He disposed of everything he had used treating Felix and put Felix’s clothes in a hamper to be collected later. 

A short time later a sailor came in for a regularly scheduled physical, they had them at all times of day since some worked the night shift and slept through the day. That took up Ambrose’s time for a good half an hour, and when the man left Ambrose was surprised when someone came by just a few minutes later, he didn't have anyone scheduled to come in for another twenty minutes or so.

The young man had the air of someone sent on an errand by their boss, he looked barely out of high school and was whip-thin, he came in and paused looking around until his gaze fell on Felix sleeping in the pseudo crib. “May I help you?” Ambrose said trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice after the boy had been present for a few moments and hadn’t yet looked over at him.

“Oh...Oh yes of course!” Stammering at first he then rushed over pulling out his datapad. “My commander was notified when you started the paperwork diagnosing an enlisted Little with Maturosis.” The man held his datapad out for Ambrose to inspect.

He looked at it reading the heading of the paperwork, finally understanding Dr. O'Sullivan finally understood and was caught between annoyance and exasperation. “Listen,” He looked at the man's adornments “Officer…”
“Jenkins, Ace Jenkins” Ace cringed internally, not intending to sound like a wannabe British spy.

“Well, Officer Jenkins, I did see in the paperwork that Felix, opted in favor of the LittleTech division clause, but protocol dictates I can’t release him to you nor can I diagnose him without finishing my exam tomorrow.”

Ace hesitated for a moment before taking the chance, “Can I be honest?”

“I’d hope so” the doctor responded his eyebrows raising

“My boss’s boss has a new project that he needs a newborn-sized little for,“ Ace nodded toward Felix’s sleeping form. “He basically told me not to come back without him, so I feel a bit…”
“Caught between a rock and your superior?” Ambrose said with a sigh.

“Essentially” Ace replied his shoulders slumping.

“Well I can’t have you getting in trouble, so here is what we will do.” Ambrose sat down at his desk and pulled out the mental health form that allowed doctors to place erratic sailors on an involuntary psychiatric hold. “I’ll fill this out making it official that he only had a mental event, and that his official Maturosis evaluation isn't until tomorrow which is essentially true since I can’t finish but I know this particular split hair will help smooth things over. He finished the details as he spoke and handed it over to Ace.

“It sounds like I will see you tomorrow, good luck”
“Thank you so much.” With that Ace left hoping the document he carried would be enough to mollify everyone above him.

With that O’Sullivan’s evening shift went normally, he explained everything about 

Felix at shift to change to Dr. Eliza Fuentes who was relieving him, he saw as he was leaving that she went to check his diaper, deciding it needed to be changed.

“Leave this special for me did you?” She said jovially with a raised eyebrow.

“What? No, I believe I checked a few minutes before you got here.” He said as he strode out, wondering Did I check? I remember checking an hour or so ago but when I went to check a little bit ago did I get distracted? Oh well, he thought with a shrug, not the worst thing to accidentally avoid after all.

He settled into his bunk and set his personal alarm to wake him earlier than he had thought he’d set it when he woke up this morning, but he wanted to make sure he was there when Felix woke up, consistency was really important with those freshly struggling with Maturosis after all.

All I can hope for is him recovering overnight or being placed with a good family Ambrose thought as he closed his eyes, the sound of rain coaxing him to sleep.