Nicole was about to start her senior year of high school. She was excited about the year ahead, but was also a little nervous about being college-bound in just a year. That would change things a lot for her as she’d gain some of the independence she craved, yet she also knew she’d miss certain aspects of the safety of the cocoon of childhood.

A familiar part of that childhood experience was going to the pediatrician’s office. While most of her friends had moved on to regular adult doctors, Nicole’s mom opted to keep her and her brother (who’s two years younger) with her pediatrician at least until she heads off to college, and Nicole was ok with that. Today she was scheduled for her physical for school sports, just in the nick of time before practices start in a few days.

While it might be among her last visits to the pediatrician, it was also the first visit to a new pediatric clinic. Her old doctor recently moved away and his practice was consolidated into a larger one in the same building. The new practice also has an adolescent medicine specialist, so this time she might not be the only teenager in the waiting room like she often was at her old doctor’s office.

Nicole’s Mom drove her to the appointment. They parked and went up the elevator and found the clinic. It had a nice modern waiting room, with a couple of different areas targeted for different age groups. She looked around to survey her surroundings and was comforted to see the usual trappings of a pediatrician’s office, but also noticed a couple of other kids her age, in addition to the usual gaggle of younger kids terrified about getting their immunizations.

She sat waiting to be called as her mom filled out some paperwork. It didn’t take long before a nurse came out and called her name.

“Nicole?,” asked a nurse, standing near the doorway. Nicole stood up and started walking towards the nurse. Her mom instinctively got up, too.

“Uh, Mom, I think I got this…,” she said nervously, thinking that she didn’t really need her mom there, even if it gave her some sense of security.

“Well I’d like to meet your new doctor, honey,” her mom said. She figured that would make her case with Nicole, but she also felt like she wanted to be there for the exam, another childhood routine she’d miss once Nicole moves out.

Nicole sighs. “OK, you can come meet the doctor,” she said.

The nurse escorted them back to an examination room. Nicole looked around, checking out the office. It was a lot bigger than her old doctor’s office, with a couple of wings of exam rooms. She noticed a station across from the exam room she was being guided to. It had a small waiting area and a curtained-off room.

Once in the exam room, the nurse introduces herself.

“Hi, Nicole. I’m Anna. And you must be Nicole’s mom?,” she said, smiling.

“Hi Anna. Yes, I’m Rachel. Nice to meet you. We moved over from Dr. Anderson’s practice. Our Nicole is a senior this year, so this might be among her last times here. Oh, here’s the exam form from school,” she offered.

“Thank you. Wow, senior year. That’s an exciting time, isn’t it, Nicole?” the nurse responds, as she takes the form from Nicole’s mom and logs into the computer in the exam room to pull up Nicole’s information.

The nurse surveyed Nicole and determined that she didn’t need to do much in the way of undressing at this point. She was wearing a tank top and a short skirt. “The doctor is with another patient right now, but we’ll get you started first. Nicole if you can just take off your shoes and socks and have a seat across the hall one of the medical assistants will get your height, weight, and vitals.”

“OK…,” Nicole said, taking off her shoes and socks, and putting them under a chair. She goes towards the door. Her mom was starting to get up, but the nurse intervened.

“You can wait here, Rachel. There’s not a lot of room across the hall,” Anna said, smiling politely.

Her mom sat back down. “Of course.”

Nicole walked across the hall. There were two open seats. She stopped briefly when she noticed she could see a patient behind the curtain. She could only see the feet and calves of a patient who it seemed was lying down on his stomach. She saw that his shorts and underwear were bunched down near his feet. She recognized the shorts as being from the high school boys’ soccer team. She got nervous, wondering who it was and what they were doing to him. She sat down, trying not to worry about it too much.

She did overhear some chatter behind the curtain.

“Can’t you take it out now? It feels weird,” a boy’s voice said.

“Almost done, just hold still for another minute,” a young-sounding female voice responded firmly.

Another minute passed. “OK, time’s up…,” the female voice said, which was then followed up a quiet gasp from the boy. “There. You can pull up your pants and go back to the exam room now, Christopher.”

She heard some rustling, and then the medical assistant’s voice again. “Oh, not to worry. That happens sometimes.”

“Um, thanks,” she heard the boy mumble. A few seconds later she heard the curtain pull back and sure enough the boy who emerged was a boy she knew. Not well, but they recognized each other. They briefly made eye contact, but he looked a really embarrassed and walked away quickly, holding a sweatshirt over the front of his soccer shorts.

The medical assistant peeked out of the curtained off area. “Nicole?”

“Yes,” Nicole said, standing up.

“Hi, I’m Natalie. I’m just going to get your height, weight, and vitals for the doctor. You can come in here now. Natalie looked like she was just a few years older than Nicole.

Nicole walks in, just as Nathalie pulls off the paper from the exam table. Nicole noticed a little wet spot in the middle of the paper, right where the boy’s penis would have been resting. She thought it might be pre-cum, but wondered why on earth he’d be leaking that at the doctor’s office. Natalie crumpled up the paper and replaced it with a new sheet.

“Let’s have you hop up on the scale,” Natalie said. Nicole did what she was asked. Natalie fidgeted with different settings on the scale and took down her height and weight.

“Good, now have a seat on the table there, please,” directing Nicole to the exam table. I’m going to get your blood pressure and pulse now, Nicole,” she said smiling. She first takes Nicole’s wrist and measures her pulse, and enters it on the computer in the room. She then wraps a blood pressure cuff around Nicole’s arm and inflates it, and then starts deflating it, holding a stethoscope against it. Finally she fully deflates it and tears off the velcro. She enters the blood pressure in the computer and returns to stand in front of Nicole.

“Your pulse and blood pressure are normal. Now I just need you to lie down on your tummy so I can take your temperature,” Nathalie says. She walks over to the counter and takes a thermometer out of a jar marked “Clean” and checks it, before shaking it down.

“Um, you don’t mean that you’re going to take it in my butt, do you?,” Nicole asks. “Dr. Anderson stopped doing it that way a long time ago.”

“I’m sorry, Nicole, but at this office we only take temperatures rectally - that means in your bottom. We recommend it to parents and patients, too. It’s the most accurate way to do it, and it’s really no big deal, I promise. Now please lie down so we can get you back for the doctor,” Natalie says, moving over to the exam table with the thermometer and a packet of something that Nicole assumed was lubricant.

Nicole let out a sigh, but complied, lying down on her tummy. She now knew what was happening to Christopher a few minutes ago. She was a little puzzled that he seemed to like it. She felt Natalie flip her skirt up.

“I’m going to pull your panties down now, Nicole, and then you’ll feel me spread your cheeks apart and insert the thermometer. Just take some deep breaths,” Natalie instructed. Nicole looked to the side, seeing the thermometer and KY Jelly on the tray next to her. She took some deep breaths as she felt Natalie’s hand gently touch her and slide her panties down. Natalie picked up the thermometer and Nicole watched as she coated the tip with KY Jelly, while giving a reassuring smile.

“OK, Nicole, here we go,” she said as she parted her cheeks with one hand and then she felt the cold thermometer up against her before it slowly pushed its way in. “Good girl, it’s in, and now we just have to wait for it to register while you lie still.”

Nicole actually didn’t mind the feeling. It felt almost kind of good, she thought. She also liked Natalie’s hand resting against her bottom. It was warm and reassuring. She remembered back to her younger days when mom would do this. She secretly liked the quiet time alone with mom, or in this case with Natalie, while being taken care of.

Nicole kept taking deep breaths and was relaxed, surrendering to the reality of what Natalie was doing to her.

“Time’s up...I’ll take it out now,” Natalie said, as she slowly pulled the thermometer out of her patient. Nicole felt a sense of relief that it was done, but also secretly wished that she could have lied there a little longer with Natalie’s hand against her.

“You can get dressed and go back to the exam room now. You were a very good patient, Nicole,” she said, touching her shoulder, after depositing the thermometer in the “used” container.

Nicole quickly pulled up her panties and adjusted her skirt. “Thanks, Natalie,” she said, exchanging smiles before she emerged from the curtain to return to the exam room. There were two younger kids, a boy and a girl, waiting anxiously outside the room as Nicole scurried by. She gave them a polite smile, feeling an obligation as an older patient to reassure them it would be okay.

She returned to the exam room to find her mom and the nurse chatting.

“Oh good, I’ll let the doctor know you’re ready,” the nurse said, stepping out.

“How did that go, honey?,” Nicole’s mom asked.

“Um, fine, I guess,” she said, not really wanting to say anything. She was still thinking about how comfortable she felt in Natalie’s care.

“Sounds like you may have had a little surprise with a thermometer, huh? The nurse told me that they do it that way here,” her mom said, arching an eyebrow.

“Yeah, that was kind of weird. I mean I thought it was just for little kids,” Nicole said, a little embarrassed.

“That’s what I thought, too, but it’s more accurate, and it helps to show that it’s no big deal when doctors need to check things down there. The nurse even recommended we do it that way at home, so maybe we’ll get you a new thermometer,” she said.

“Mom!,” Nicole said, just as the door swung open.

“Hi, Nicole… I’m Dr. Keating. I understand you’re one of Brad Anderson’s former patients,” he said with a big smile, extending his hand.

“Um, hi, Doctor,” Nicole said, sizing him up. He’s a nice looking guy, about 40. He was dressed in regular clothes and no lab coat.

“And you must be Mom….Andrew Keating…,” he said, offering his hand to Nicole’s mom.

“Rachel...nice to meet you, Doctor. Nicole’s here for her senior year physical,” she said, feeling she needed to explain why they were there. “Is it ok if I stay?”

“If it’s ok with Nicole,” he said, looking to Nicole.

Nicole rolled her eyes. “Sure, why not…”

“Good. I’ve looked over your medical history and everything seems to be in order. I just have a few questions to go over… First of all, what sport will you be playing?”

“Tennis, doctor,” she said.

“Great sport. I play, too! You could probably beat me, though...my backhand isn’t as good as it used to be. Do you currently take any medications?”

“No, Doctor,” she said.

“And do you drink alcohol at all?,” he asked.

Nicole looked at the floor.

“Nicole, just answer the doctor. I know you’re not playing Monopoly when you go to your friends’ houses… remember I was 18 once, too….,” her Mom chipped in.

“Yes, a little on weekends at parties. I never drive home, though,” she said, knowing that her parents were kind of willing to overlook drinking as long as she didn’t drive.

“OK. And any drugs?”

“No, never,” she said.

“Smoking? Vaping?”

“Ick, no.”

“Are you sexually active?,” asked the doctor.

“Well not sex….,” she said.

“So...any contact?,” the doctor asked.

“Just some fooling around, ok?,” she said, trying to pretend her mom wasn’t there. She has had a couple of boyfriends that haven’t been too serious. They’ve both wanted to have sex, but she had been holding off until it’s someone she feels more serious about, though she loves their make-out sessions and has let them touch her ‘down there’ and has happily reciprocated. She has also fooled around with her friend Katie recently. She slept over and they were a little drunk and dared each other to try kissing, and it went a little further. She didn’t want to bring that up, though.

“OK...good….let’s go ahead and start your exam. Can you please take your skirt off and remove your bra? You can leave your panties and top on,” the doctor asked as he typed some notes into her file. Nicole unclasped her bra and took it out from under her top, and removed her skirt. She sat down on the exam table in her panties and shirt, just as she had been doing at the doctor for as long as she could remember.

Her mom sat quietly, reflecting on the sexual questions. She was pretty open about sexual stuff with Nicole, and hoped that she wasn’t lying about what she was, or wasn’t, doing.

The doctor picked up an otoscope and began doing the usual checks. “I’m just going to look in your ears and your nose, Nicole,” he said, as he stepped to each side to look in each ear, and then tilted her head up gently to look into her nose.

Dr. Keating picked up a tongue depressor from the counter. “Okay, open wide and say ‘aaah’, Nicole.” She instinctively opened and stuck her tongue out, following orders The doctor pushed the depressor down on her tongue and looked around.

“Very good. Teeth look healthy, too,” the doctor observed.

“Oh she’s very good about going to the dentist,” her mom said, feeling like she needed to contribute to the conversation.

Dr. Keating set down the otoscope and put his stethoscope on. “Now let’s have a listen,” he said, trailing off as he reached under Nicole’s top and set the bell of the cold stethoscope against her chest. He smiled slightly and moved it around to listen to other areas of her chest before setting it against her back to listen to her lungs.

“Couple of deep breaths, please,” the doctor asked. Nicole complied as the doctor’s warm hand and cold stethoscope rested against her back.

“Everything sounds great so far. Now let’s have you lie back on the table, Nicole,” the doctor instructed.

Megan laid back, looking up at the smiling doctor standing over her, now setting his stethoscope against her belly. “Just breathe normally and relax,” he said as he pushed her shirt up out of the way and moved the stethoscope around her belly, at one point just slipping it under the waistband of her underwear. It wasn’t long enough to react, but she felt a little quiver from the unexpected visit into her panties.

Dr. Keating set his stethoscope down and began gently palpating Nicole’s belly, feeling all around and gently pushing down. “Everything feel okay, Nicole?,” the doctor asked.

“Mmmhmmm,” she mumbled. She felt a little guilty about enjoying the doctor’s touch. She wasn’t turned on so much as she was comforted by his gentle touch and the fact that he seemed so focused on her.

The doctor felt along Nicole’s slides and reached underneath to feel her kidney area. He pushed her arms to each side to feel her lymph nodes under her arms, and then felt along her neck.

“Everything’s good so far, Nicole. Let’s have you sit up and test your reflexes,” the doctor instructed. She sat up as the doctor produced a reflex hammer. He lightly tapped each knee, resulting in the usual little kick.

“Great. Now Nicole can you slip your top off and lie back down on the table, please,” the doctor asks.

She looks over at her mom, who gives her a gentle nod to follow the doctor’s instructions. She takes her top off and lies back, leaving her medium-sized breasts for the doctor to examine. He inspects each nipple and areola, gently touching them and tracing a circle with his fingers around each nipple. Nicole closed her eyes and bit her lip a little. She was super-sensitive there and loved it when boys would play with her nipples. Fortunately the doctor didn’t take long to finish his inspection, as she was starting to feel a little aroused.

“Very good, Nicole. Looks like you’ve developed well. I didn’t notice any unusual tenderness or lumps. You should make sure you’re checking your breasts for any lumps or unusual tenderness every month, though,” the doctor added.

“Yes, doctor, they told us all about that in health class” she said, not minding having to touch her breasts at home.

“Excellent. It’s important to start checking yourself regularly. So next I just need to do a quick genital examination. I won’t be doing a pelvic exam today since you’re not sexually active and I usually suggest going to an OB-GYN for that anyway. Do you have a gynecologist?”

“Um, no….,” Nicole mumbles. She has been putting off going for a GYN exam, and hasn’t really needed to go for birth control or anything like that.

“Well, you should probably go for a baseline exam over the next year. We can recommend someone, or perhaps your mom can refer you to hers,” the doctor said.

“We can get you in to see Dr. Linnehan or one of her practice partners,” her Mom said, concurring that it was probably time to start that routine. Nicole’s heart sank at the idea of going to a doctor that focused so much on that part of her body and hoped this would be a really short genital exam.

Dr. Keating rested a hand on Nicole’s leg. “Nicole, I’ll need you to slip your panties off for me now, just for a minute or two,” said the doctor. He could sense Nicole’s apprehension, and was used to dealing with girls and boys who were reluctant to put themselves on display.

Nicole sighed and stood up. She slipped her panties down and took them off, setting them with the rest of her clothes. She was now standing there naked in front of her mom and her new doctor.

“Good girl, now just hop back up on the table,” the doctor instructed as he put on a pair of gloves. The “snap” of the gloves startled her slightly.

Nicole got up on the table and tried to relax. “Now I’ll need you to just flex your knees up and spread your legs apart a little,” the doctor said as he guided her knees up and positioned her feet resting on the table. “There, perfect,” he said. Nicole relaxed as her knees were spread apart and all of her private areas were on display for her new doctor, as well as her mom.

Her mom was sitting nearby and trying to give her daughter some space by not seeming overly interested in the proceedings. But she thought about how much her little girl was growing up, and also how she might feel if she was the one being touched by the nice young doctor. She also remembered she’d be back here in a few days with Nicole’s brother for his physical and wondered how much the doctor would check out.

The doctor touched the inside of Nicole’s leg, and proceeded once he sensed that she relaxed. He examined her pubic hair, and then spread her labia gently to inspect the outside of her vagina. He touched her gently, noting a trace of moisture. He didn’t think much of it, as he’s a professional and, frankly, many of his patients show some evidence of arousal by the time they get to this part of the exam. He gently touched just inside, and then brushed past her clitoris. She has touched herself there, and a couple of boyfriends have kind of fumbled around in the area, but it was a different sensation having someone else touch her there gently but unexpectedly. She let out a little gasp, but was careful not to react too much since her mom was there, and of course she didn’t want to be embarrassed by showing her pleasure in front of the doctor.

“Everything looks fine, Nicole. I would recommend getting a baseline exam as I mentioned, but there’s no rush based on what I can see,” the doctor said, speaking to Nicole and her mom.

“Almost done Nicole, I just need you to turn onto your stomach for a quick check, please,” said the doctor. He took off his gloves and put on a fresh pair, as Nicole brought down her knees and turned over, relieved that the exam must be almost over.

The doctor traced his finger down Nicole’s spine, checking for any signs of scoliosis. Then he looked over the skin on her arms and legs. Without notice he touched Nicole’s buttocks and spread them apart with one hand. Nicole looked back over her shoulder to see the doctor looking at her butt.

“Just having a quick look, almost done,” he said, acknowledging Nicole’s concerned face. He looked for a second, and gently touched the outside of her anus, which was still a little lubricated from the thermometer. He didn’t push inside, though.

Nicole wondered if he was going to do anything else back there, but was relieved as she felt the doctor let go and then heard the gloves coming off.

“Well, Nicole, everything checked out just fine and you’re a very healthy young woman. You can go ahead and put your underpants, top, and bra back on, the doctor said. “Let’s leave your skirt off for now.”

Dr. Keating went to the computer screen and entered a few notes and perused her record. “I see that you’re due for a tetanus booster and the next HPV dose. I also recommend a flu shot if you’re ok with that,” the doctor asked, looking up at Nicole and then to her mom.

“Sure, doctor, whatever…,” Nicole said. She HATED shots, but knew that she didn’t have much of a choice. She didn’t like the idea of three of them at one time, but didn’t want to have to come back again soon. Her mom simply nodded her head once Nicole consented.

“Good. I’ll have the nurse come in and take care of that and you should be good to go,” said the doctor. “I know you’re graduating this year, but you’re certainly welcome to keep coming back through your college years if you don’t want to change doctors. Either way, it was really nice meeting you, Nicole,” said the doctor, extending his hand. Nicole returned the handshake and smiled, having already put her panties and bra back on.

“And it was nice meeting you, too,” he said to Nicole’s mom.

“Yes, doctor. Nice to meet you. I think I’ll be seeing you soon for her brother’s check-up,” her mom said, smiling, happy that she’d have another chance to see the nice new doctor.

“Excellent - I’ll see you then. Hopefully Nicole will give him a good report on his new doctor!,” he joked.

“I’m sure she will,” said her mom, as the doctor stepped out of the room.

Nicole felt awkward being in the exam room with her mom at this point. Her mom had seen her at the doctor’s countless times, but it felt really different this time since she was naked and her most private places were examined more than they had ever been before. Her old pediatrician used to basically just pull back her panties for a quick check of her development. Her mom could sense the awkwardness and fought her habit of making small talk in such situations, realizing it would not ease her daughter’s tension.

Before they could finally break the ice with a comment, Nurse Anna as well as Natalie, the assistant who had taken care of her vitals before, knocked and came into the exam room. Natalie was holding a tray and set it down on the counter. She pulled back a cover, which revealed three syringes and something wrapped in foil. She also noticed a pack of KY Jelly that she recognized from having her temperature taken and wondered why that would be necessary for getting shots.

“OK, Nicole, I think the doctor mentioned you’d be getting three vaccinations today, right?,” confirmed Anna.

Nicole nodded, thinking for a moment she should run out of the room and avoid the needles.

“Good. I’ll give you your flu shot first and that will go in your arm. And then I’ll give you the tetanus booster and HPV. Those might hurt a little more and I know you’re playing tennis, so I’ll give those to you back here,” she continues, patting her own backside.

Nicole gulped. She hadn’t had a shot there in a long time and remembered them hurting a lot.

“We’ll also give you some medicine to help ease any pain from the injections and get in front of any fever than might come up from the flu shot, since a mild fever can be a side effect,” Anna explained.

“Okay….,” Nicole responded. The word “injection” made it sound somehow even worse than a “shot”, and she hadn’t thought about lingering pain or other side effects before. But she just wanted to get it over with at this point.

Anna put on gloves and picked up the first syringe, which had a short needle on it, and opened an alcohol pad. She swabbed Nicole’s left upper arm and then quickly put the needle in and injected the vaccine. Nicole winced slightly, but it was all over in a second. Anna pressed a cotton ball against the injection site and put a band-aid over it.

“One down, two to go. Now for these I’m going to need you to lie down on your stomach. She saw Natalie put on a pair of gloves as she was laying down and getting herself situated. Natalie also tore open the packet of lubricant and the little foil capsule she had noticed before.

Nicole’s mom looked on with interest, trying to figure out what Natalie was doing.

“Natalie is going to give you some tylenol before the next two injections. Have you had a Tylenol suppository before?,” Anna asked.

“Um, what’s that?,” Nicole asked.

“No, I don’t think she has had them before. I didn’t even know that Tylenol came that way, um….,” her mom spoke up, trailing off.

“It’s some medicine that we push up into your bottom. It works really fast and won’t upset your stomach at all. It just feels a little like when Natalie took your temperature earlier,” Anna explained.

“And you did a great job with that,” Natalie added, giving a sly smile to her patient to put her at ease and remind her that she didn’t mind that part so much.

Nicole couldn’t believe this, but again realized that she didn’t want to put up a fuss in front of her mom and risk drawing this out any longer. She buried her face in her folded arms.

Natalie came over and pulled Nicole’s panties down and spread her cheeks, just as she had done before. This time, though, she squeezed some lubricant onto her index finger and began massaging it into Nicole’s opening, gradually working her finger inside.

“Just relax, Nicole and we’ll be done before you know it,” Natalie said, massaging her back for reassurance. Once Natalie’s finger got all the way in, she removed it and then took the suppository out of the packet and pushed it slowly up into Nicole’s rectum. Nicole let out a whimper, but found herself gently pushing back onto Natalie’s finger. She had never had anything more than a thermometer up her butt before, but liked the feeling of something a little bigger, and Natalie’s touch felt comforting to her.

“I’m just going to hold it in for a minute,” Natalie said, as she rested her hand against Nicole’s cheeks. Anna was preparing the next two injections and standing by.

“All done…,” Natalie said, slowly withdrawing her finger from Nicole. She was briefly tempted to push it back in once more, but resisted the urge. She removed her gloves and returned to her patient’s side.

Anna tore open an alcohol pad and swabbed each side of Nicole’s butt. “Here’s the first one,” she said, plunging the larger needle into Nicole’s left cheek and quickly injecting the vaccine. “And one more,” she said, repeating the process on the right side. That one stung a little, but it definitely didn’t hurt as much as the antibiotic shots she remembered from childhood. Natalie put band-aids on each injection site and pulled up Nicole’s panties for her. She then gathered up the supplies and threw the syringes into a sharps container and everything else in the medical waste bin.

“Great job, Nicole….you are all set,” she said. The doctor signed your form and you can get it from the receptionist when you leave. Here’s a sample package of the Tylenol we gave you, in case you feel any pain or develop a fever later. Nicole reluctantly took the box from Anna, noticing the term “rectal suppositories.” She was a little freaked out, yet also kind of turned on by the prospect of using them sometime. Speaking to Rachel, Anna added “You might want to keep an eye on her temperature over the next couple of days, as the flu shot can sometimes cause a low-grade fever.”

“Of course. We’ll keep an eye on her. Thanks for taking good care of Nicole today,” Rachel said.

“Our pleasure….she’s such a good patient. We hope her brother is half as cooperative! Hope to see you soon, Nicole,” Anna said, as she left the room.

“Bye, Nicole good luck at school,” Natalie aid, touching Nicole gently on her arm, and offering a smile.

“Thanks,” Nicole said, returning the smile. Natalie walked out, leaving Nicole to get all of her clothes back on.

“Well, they were really nice… I know it was a bit more than we expected!,” her mom said. “You were really good, though. I’m sure not all of the kids are as cooperative as you were.”

“Yeah that was a little weird, huh? Well, at least I’m ready for tennis, I guess,” Nicole said as she put her clothes back on and composed herself. “Let’s get out of here,” she said, leading her mom out of the exam room, finally feeling like she was in control of the situation.

They picked up Nicole’s exam form on the way out and walked quietly out to the car, both of them taking in the whole experience and not really knowing what to say. Just as she was starting the car, her mom turned to her and smiled, “Your brother sure has an experience coming his way, doesn’t he?”

Nicole laughed. “Yeah, he is going to freak out isn’t he? Should I tell him about it, or let it be a surprise?”

“Maybe let it be a surprise. Up to you, though,” she said.

“Let me know if you want me to take him,” Nicole said, half-joking.

“Oh that’d get him going wouldn’t it,” her mom answered, as she laughed and drove out of the parking garage.

After a quiet car ride home, Nicole quickly ran up to her room since she had to change and get to tennis practice. She set down the box of Tylenol and changed into her tennis gear. She looked in the mirror for a minute and noticed her face was a little flushed.

She returned from practice a couple hours later with her friend Katie. Her mom’s car was gone, which she expected since she mentioned she needed to go back to work. She could hear her brother downstairs doing X-Box.

Nicole and Katie went up to Nicole’s room to change and hang out for a while. When Nicole walked in to her room she saw that her mom had made her bed and put some folded-up laundry on it. She also saw out of the corner of her eye that there was a vaguely familiar red thermometer case and tube of lubricating jelly set next to the Tylenol suppositories. Her mom had clearly found the old thermometer and left it for her. She stole a glance and, sure enough, the case had a faintly written “Nicole-Rectal” label on it. She gulped, embarrassed to see those things out, but she also had warm feelings flooding back into her mind from her doctor’s appointment, particularly from her time with Natalie. She hoped Katie wouldn’t see anything.

Nicole grabbed a t-shirt from the laundry pile on her bed to cover the stuff up, but before she could do it, Katie was over at her dresser. She turned and gave a sly grin to Nicole. “Looks like someone has either been playing doctor or has been to see Dr. Keating…”