“Yes, I will”, he said, winking at me but with a serious tone to his voice. I laughed.

Just then, I heard a yip from the back door. “Doc, could you please go let Jessie in?”

“Sure. Did you say you have a fridge on your porch?”

“Yes. It’s just a second fridge I use for my extra eggs and anything else that won’t go in the main one.”

“Extra eggs?”

“Yeah, from my hens.”

“I should have known. Rescues?”

“Not in the same way the horses are. I had my own, and took in half of a flock that had belonged to a farmer who died. I give as many eggs away as I can. And I freeze some for winter when the hens’ production is way down.”

“How the heck do you freeze eggs?”

“Crack them into the compartments of an ice cube tray. Then when they are frozen, remove them the same way you do ice cubes and put them in bags.”

Jessie gave another yip. “Her Highness is getting impatient”, I said.

“I better go let her in”, the doc said. “I’ll get your Gatorade while I’m back there.”

In a minute, Jessie came bounding in to the bathroom and tried to get in the tub. Being a black lab, she loved the water and I always had to shut the bathroom door when taking a bath.

The doc came in a moment later with my Gatorade and handed me the bottle before sitting down on the floor beside the tub. It was a bit of an odd sight, him sitting there on my bathroom floor in dress slacks, shirt and tie. I got the impression he was not the type to dress casually very often, though at least he had rolled his sleeves up. I unscrewed the cap of my Gatorade and took a drink.

“Does Jessie need to be fed?” he asked

“No, Karen fed her when she was here to feed the horses. She does that for me when I’m out haying.”

“Oh, good. I don’t have to worry about you trying to feed your horses.”

“I gotta do it in the morning, though.”

“I’d rather you didn’t. Can you get Karen to do it?”

“She’s done so much already….”

“She’s your best friend. I’m sure she would do it for you.”

“I’m sure she would, too. I just don’t want to ask.”

“Then I will ask her. What’s her number?” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. I gave him her number and permission for him to talk to her about my medical situation. After talking to her for a few minutes, he put his phone away. “She said to tell you that she and/or her kids will do morning and evening chores until I clear you to do some or all of them. That won’t be any time this weekend.” Karen’s “kids” were teens and her daughter was horse crazy.

I groaned. “Geez, Doc….”

“Don’t ‘Geez, Doc’ me. No negotiating, this is final. Are you done your Gatorade?” I nodded and handed him the empty bottle, he reached up and put it on the vanity.

I took the bar of soap from its holder beside me and asked him for the washcloth. He flipped his tie over his shoulder, then took the bar from my hand and soaped up the washcloth before washing me front and back. He was very gentle, and especially so on my red arms. It felt weird to be in a bathtub with my gynecologist bathing me, but it also felt very comfortable. When he was done, he took the shower head off it’s holder and rinsed me off.

“Thanks, Doc”, I said when he was done. Could you please hand me the shampoo? It’s behind me, I can’t get it from here.” I reached up to the back of my head and tried to take the hair elastic out. Most of my ponytail had come out in the wind, but some remained and it was all messed up.

“Here, hon - let me get that for you”, he said and carefully took the elastic out of my dishevelled hair. He got my brush from the sink and brushed out the tangles, taking care to not pull it or break it off. When he had done that, he wet it down with the shower head, got the shampoo and lathered it up. After he had rinsed my head off, he sat back down on the floor. “What do you want for supper, hon?”

“I’m not really hungry, Doc.”

“You need to eat something. I saw the eggs in your fridge - they aren‘t graded, though, are they?”

“Of course they’re not graded, they are from my own chickens.”

“You shouldn’t be eating them.”

I looked at the doctor like he was off his rocker. “Doc, people have been eating farm fresh eggs for centuries without problems. Lighten up.”

“What if there’s an embryo in them or blood or worse?”

“First off, no embryo as I don’t have a rooster. When you use farm fresh eggs, don’t crack them into food ie a batter. Crack each egg into a bowl to make sure there’s nothing in it you can’t live with, then dump it into your batter. I rarely even get a small spot of blood and have never had anything else in my eggs. And, Doc, the taste is not even comparable to caged hen eggs.”

“It’s better?”

“A lot better! That’s what I’ll make for supper. Scrambled eggs or fried, if you want yours that way. You can taste them for yourself.”

“YOU aren’t making anything for supper, my dear. *I* will cook.”

“If it wasn’t so warm, I’d insist you cook on the wood stove”, I teased him.

He look alarmed. “You cook on that thing?”

“I sure do - in the cold weather, especially when the power goes out. It’s a handy thing to have, and it heats a good part of the downstairs in the winter. There’s nothing like toast done over an open flame. You will have to come and see and taste for yourself. Come out for an old fashioned farm breakfast.”

“I can feel my arteries harden”, he quipped.

“What is it that you doctors say?” I asked. “Moderation in everything.”

“I can’t argue with that. Ok, I want you to drink another bottle of Gatorade, you still look a little pale.” He felt my forehead with his hand. “No fever, though, you feel cool.”

“Let me out of here first, Doc. I’m freezing.”

“Freezing?” I nodded. “Ok, hold on, let me get you a towel. He pulled one off the towel bar. “Need help getting up?”

“I don’t think so.” I pulled the plug, then got up, rinsed off and stepped out of the bathtub. Doc wrapped the towel around me and got another and rubbed my head with it. Then he brushed my hair out again. He was able to do that without me sitting down as I’m only 5’3” compared to his height of 6’.

“To the bedroom”, he commanded when he had finished with my hair. He followed me in and pulled the bed covers down. “Get in, leave the towel on.” When I was laying down, he pulled the covers back up. “I’m going to take your temp again. Hold on a sec while I get ready.”

“You are using an oral thermometer this time, right?”

“No, rectal is more accurate.” I groaned.

When he was ready, he told me to turn over on my belly. The doctor lifted the covers and pushed the towel up, exposing my butt, then sat down on the bed and lubed my anus before inserting the thermometer. I hid my face in the pillow so he wouldn't see me blushing. I hadn’t had my temperature taken that way since I was a young child. “This is a good time to put that cream on”, he said as he reached into his bag and took a tube of something out. I wondered why he kept cream in his medical bag.

He tenderly rubbed some of the cream into each butt cheek. I flinched a little as it was a bit sore, even though his touch was light.

“Hey, Doc”, I said while waiting for the thermometer to register. “How did you know where to find the field we were in?”

“I came here to the house”, he replied. “I was hoping you’d be back for supper, but Karen was here and told me where you were.” I made a mental note to give Karen supreme shit the next day.

Changing the subject, I asked “Hey, if you weren’t here babysitting me, what would you be doing?”

“Probably reading or working on charts.”

“What do you read?”

“Mostly medical journals. Occasionally a novel.”

“Doc, you need to get out more. Come on out to a hoedown some day.”

“A hoedown?”

“A barn dance. There’s one in this area almost every weekend with good old fashioned country music. So, pick the weekend.”

“Country music? I guess I should have known.”

“What do you listen to?”

“Classical.”

“Expand your horizons, Doc. Besides, you might meet a hot country gal!”

“I’ve already met one.”

To my surprise, I felt a pang of jealousy. “You have? Oh right, you said that earlier - that there was someone you wanted to ask out. Well, do it, Doc!”

“We shall see.” I vowed to get him out to a barn dance and to try to get him to ask Ms Hottie to go with him.

When the 3 minutes were up, Dr Richards took the thermometer out. “You’re a bit low now, hon. 35.2.” He took a tissue and wiped the lube off of me, then took his gloves off and disposed of them.

“Let’s get this wet towel off you.” He opened the towel and slid it from under me. “Do you have something warm to wear, like a flannel nightgown?”

“I think there’s one in my middle dresser drawer.”

“May I go get it? I don’t want to violate your privacy.”

“Yes, Doc, you may. Don’t worry, I keep my kinky sex toys well hidden.” The doctor’s face flushed and he turned around very quickly before walking over to my dresser to get the nightgown. However, he could not hide the blush when he had to face me to come back over to the bed. I thought about telling him I was only joking, but decided to let him stay embarrassed, it would be payback for the spanking and rectal temps.

Dr Richards handed me my nightgown and I got out of bed to put it on. He asked where my socks were and I told him top drawer. He found a warm pair and put them on my feet. “Back to bed”, he ordered.

“But, Doc….”

“I said back to bed. Now. No negotiating.”

“Doc…”

“Do I have to pick you up and put you in the bed?”

“Ya know, I’d make you do that if I wasn’t afraid you’d break your back. I’m no lightweight.” I got back into bed and he pulled the covers up over me.

“Stay here while I change my wet clothes and get your supper.”

“What are you changing into?” I asked, looking up at him.

“I keep a change of clothes and toiletries in my car in case I get dirty or for when I stay too late at the office doing paperwork and crash there for the night.” Ah, so that’s what’s in the other bag he took out of his trunk. “Now, where do you keep your frying pan? And what do you like in your scrambled eggs?”

“Frying pans are under the stove and I like a bit of chopped onion and cheese in it. I think there’s a half onion in a bag on the top shelf in the kitchen fridge and there’s a bag of grated cheese.”

“You rest while I’m cooking. You are to stay in that bed, understand?”

“Yes, sir”, I said as I gave him a salute.

“That should earn you a spanking”, he replied.

“Haha, Doc.”

“I was expecting a dare…”

“I get the feeling you wanted me to dare you, Doc.” For the second time in less than five minutes, he blushed and left the room without saying another word. I turned over on my side, curled up under the blankets and closed my eyes. Awhile later, I realized I had to pee. Coming out of the bedroom, I saw Doc in the hall heading toward me. When he saw me, he looked pissed off.

“I thought I told you to stay in that bed!”

“I gotta pee, Doc.”

“It seems you always have to pee when I catch you being on your feet when you aren’t supposed to be.”

“Blame my bladder, Doc”, I said as I turned into the bathroom and closed the door. When I was done, I went out to the kitchen to see how he was making out. He was scraping the scrambled eggs onto two plates.

“Bed!” he commanded in a firm voice.

“I prefer to eat at the table.” I went to the table and sat down. Doc set my plate in front of me and his at the end of the table. Putting his hands on my shoulders, he leaned down and in a quiet but stern voice, said into my ear “After you eat, you will go back to bed and you will stay there until morning. Non-negotiable. Understand?”

“And if I don’t?”

“Try me and you will see.”