Alex was not a happy camper when he found out that Doc was weaning me off Ativan. He came out to the farm without calling ahead one day when Julian was at work. “I had an interesting talk with Julian this morning”, he said to me.

“I know, Alex. He called me.”

“Who’s idea was it to take you off the Ativan?” I didn’t answer. “Was it yours or Julian’s?”

“Mine.” While I am loathe to lie and only rarely do it, I wanted to protect Doc.

“Bullshit, Meredith. If you knew he was reducing your dose, you’d not have been so eager to let me do the blood work. You didn’t know that it would show a lower amount of it in your system.”

“What’s your point, Alex?”

“I’m not so sure that you and Julian are good for each other, Meredith.”

“Stop it right there, Alex! If you came here to try to talk me into breaking up with him, you can leave right now! I will *not* put up with that!”

“I’m only looking out for your best interest.”

“I believe that you *think* you are.”

“I really am.”

“If that were true, you wouldn’t have said that about Julian.”

“Meredith, think about it. He gave you a lower dose without you - or I - knowing about it.”

“I’m sure he had his reasons.”

“Yes, he wants ‘Feisty Meredith’ back.”

“I do, too. I don’t like not being myself.”

“Meredith, you do impulsive and self destructive things when you are not on Ativan.”

“When was the last time, Alex?”

“The other day, when you climbed a tree and fell out.”

“That was not impulsive or self destructive. I do that every year to pick the fruit and until the other day, have never fallen out. And I wouldn’t have fallen then if Doc hadn’t yelled at me and startled me.

“Alex, please do not push. If you continue to push me, I will not see you as a therapist anymore, and quite possibly not as a friend.” He looked defeated. I felt bad, but I had to be firm.

“Will you promise me one thing, Meredith?”

“What’s that?”

“That if court is too much, you will go back on Ativan until both cases are done with?”

“Who decides what is ‘too much’?”

“I do.”

“Then, no. I will not agree to that.”

“You don’t trust my judgement?”

“To be honest, no. Not after you freaking out over me going off the Ativan.”

“Who do you want to make that determination?”

“Doc.”

“He doesn’t want you on it.”

“He would if he felt I wasn’t handling court well.”

Alex sighed. “Ok, I have a feeling you won’t bend on this.”

“I won’t.”

“So, to be clear - you agree to go back on it if Julian thinks you should.”

“I will consider it. That’s the best you’re going to get.”

“Okay.”

“Now, let’s go out to the kitchen and have some lunch. There’s leftover meatloaf from last night in the oven on warm. Doc made it, it’s really good. I was just going to have some when you arrived.”

We sat down to a pleasant meal. Alex dropped the Ativan topic and we talked about other things. He really liked Doc’s meatloaf and roasted mixed veggies. “I had heard that Julian is an excellent cook, though I have never had the opportunity to sample it, other than at the bash, but that was cold salads and burgers. This is delicious. If he hadn’t wanted to be a doctor, he could easily have been a chef.”

“He sure could have. But being a doctor is his first love. Correction, was his first love. He says it’s now his second love after me, and cooking is his third love.”

“I have no doubt that he loves you very much.”

“The feeling is mutual, Alex. I love him more than anything.”

“I know you do. And I’m backing off on any talk of you two splitting up. I could very well be wrong about you being wrong for each other - and I hope I am.”

“I *know* you are wrong. And look at it this way - how would you have reacted had someone said that you and Deanna were wrong for each other?”

“Okay, point made.” I smiled. “There’s something else I’m concerned about with you, Meredith. The fact that you are not taking any more rescue horses. That is not you.”

“I need a break, Alex. With everything that happened, I just needed to come home from the hospital and relax.”

“You’ve been home for a few months now, and you’ve been getting stronger all the time.”

“Yes, but there’s court coming up and then the wedding. Julian and I are planning on going away in January for a while. I did call the rescue co-ordinator and tell her I’d take a case if nobody else was available - to give them someone to call as a last resort.”

“I hope you know that means you will be taking on the “hard” cases, the ones others don’t want to bother with? And opening yourself up to a lot of heartache? I know how much it affects you to lose a horse.”

“I know, but someone has to do it. Those animals deserve to be treated well in their last days.”

“I’m here for you any time you need me, Meredith.”

“Thanks, Alex and I may just take you up on it. It’s Doc I’m worried about, though.”

“Why?”

“He’s never been through the loss of an animal. I’ve been through it many times, doesn’t mean it’s easy by any means. But when you’ve never been through it before, it’s all the harder. He doesn’t get attached to the horses like I do, but he does have his favourites - and he is really getting attached to Jessie, even if he won’t admit it. She’s still fairly young but on a farm, you never know what could happen. When the day comes - and eventually it will - he’s going to be a wreck.”

“I’ll be here for him, too - if he wants me to. I’ve sat with my brother Steve many a time after he’s had to put an animal down. He’s been a veterinarian for a lot of years, but has never gotten used to it.”

“I’m sure, Alex. And I’m sure some of those were my horses.”

“Yes, they were. It’s especially hard for him when he has to put an animal down due to neglect or abuse.”

“Why wouldn’t Julian want you to be here for him?”

“He’s pretty pissed off at me right now. We had a few words this morning, as you know.”

“He’ll calm down, Alex. He’s not an angry person, except when it comes to someone hurting me. He’s mad over suggestions that we shouldn’t get married, but if you back off, and stay backed off, he’ll put it in the past. You‘ve helped him a lot, and he‘s appreciative of that.”

“How about you, Meredith?”

“You’ve helped me, too. Especially with what happened with Jane and Watters.”

“What about your body image?”

“I’m still working on that.”

“Keep working on it. You are keeping your appointment with me next week?”

“As long as you keep your promise.”

When Doc got home after work, he was furious. And he wasn’t overly happy that I had Alex stay for lunch. “Meredith, you served him lunch - food that I made - after what he tried to do to us??”

“Don’t be petty, Doc.”

“I’m never ‘petty’, Meredith.”

“Doc, relax.”

“Don’t tell me to relax.” We were getting dangerously close to having our first real fight. I did not want that to happen, so I took a different tack.

“Julian, what did he say to you that has you so upset?”

“He tried to get me to break up with you. Said we’re not good for each other.”

“He told me the same thing.”

“And you still had lunch with him?”

“We worked it out.”

“What do you mean?”

“I told him that if he continued to push, he’d be minus a friend and patient. It got his attention. He’s agreed to back off.”

“Still….he made the suggestion.”

“What else did he say to you, Doc?”

“He’s pretty angry at me reducing your Ativan dose. Made some noise about reporting me.”

“Doc, that’s serious. If he reported you, you could get in trouble.”

“I know. That’s why I’m so mad. He’s supposed to be our friend.”

“He wouldn’t get anywhere without me backing up his accusation. All I’d have to do is say that I told you to reduce it, that I refused to take the whole dose.”

“Would you do that?”

“You know how I feel about lying, Julian.” He looked crestfallen. “I will only do it if I absolutely have to. I’d dance around it as much as I could, but if it came down to it, I’d say I told you to do it.”

“Meredith, I don’t like lying either and I would understand if you had said you wouldn’t do it.”

“There’s no need to worry anyway, Doc. He’s not going to make trouble. By the way, why *did* you reduce the dose without telling me?”

“I knew it would come out eventually and if I didn’t tell you, you could honestly say you knew nothing about it. That way, Alex would be mad at me, not you.

“Come here, Doc. Let me give you a hug and then lets go out to the barn and brush some horses. It‘s great relaxation therapy.”

“You know what comes after being in the barn, hon.”

“A shower.”

“Yes, exactly.” He playfully slapped my butt. “Wait a minute, Meredith. You can’t do any grooming, you have to be off that foot.”

“It’s better, Doc. I can walk on it.”

“How much have you been walking on it when I haven’t been home?” I didn’t answer. “Meredith?”

“A little”, I admitted.

“What were you told in the ER about how long to stay off it?”

“I think she said about 4 weeks, but she’s wrong. It’s not sprained. If it were, I’d not be able to walk on it without pain.”

“4 weeks, hon. Not one week. You will not be grooming any horses.”

I sighed. “Fine. I can sit and watch you do it. From behind, so I have a view of your lovely ass. But I need to change clothes first. I‘ll meet you in the barn.” I made my way up to our bedroom, and put on that old pair of tattered jeans that I’d cut the butt out of. I changed into a sexy bra and put on an old blue shirt of Doc’s that came down to below my ass before going back downstairs. When I got to the barn, Doc was talking to Karen, who was here late today. He raised an eyebrow when he saw me wearing his shirt, but didn’t say anything.

“I got here a bit late”, my bestie explained to me. “I’m almost done.”

“No worries, Karen. Doc, we‘re gonna have to wait until they have eaten their grain. I wanted him to brush a horse and see how calming it can be when you are upset”, I explained to her.

“Why is he not calm?”

“Just something that happened at work today.” It wasn’t a lie as the conversation he’d had with Alex *did* happen when he was at work.

After Karen left, Doc asked me why I was wearing his shirt. “I needed something long, to cover my butt.”

“Oh? Why do you need to cover your butt?”

“You tell me, Doc.” I got off the stool I was sitting on and leaned on my crutches. He lifted the shirt and took a peek.

“Oh, my”, he said “A bare butt. That is just too tempting.” He slapped it. “I think you need a spanking, hon. For walking on that foot when you aren’t supposed to.” He sat on the stool I had vacated. I lay over his knee and he set my crutches up against the wall. Usually he caresses my ass a bit before spanking it. Not this time. He totally took me by surprise and brought his hand down swiftly and hard. After a few whacks, I heard the sound of a hoof hitting a wall.

I looked up and saw Buddy, the harness horse I‘d worked with so long ago, stick his head out of the opening above his stall door. He was looking at Doc and I. “It’s okay, Buddy. Settle down!”, I called out. I think my horse thought I was being harmed. I gave him the thumbs up sign and he went back to eating. Whoever said horses are dumb?

Doc resumed the spanking. I was getting wet and could feel it run out of me and onto his leg. I wondered if he had noticed. I got my answer when he started spanking me harder. I got wetter. He stopped and caressed my cheeks, then ran his hand down and between my legs.

“I think I’m wet, Doc.”

“You are definitely wet, Meredith. Get up, hon.” I got up and leaned over to kiss him. To steady myself, I put my hands on his shoulders. After a long, passionate kiss, I stood up and headed toward the grain barrels.

“Meredith, your foot!”

“Spank me, Doc.” I turned around with my ass up against the barrel and pushed myself up and onto it. I spread my legs and he came up between them. He unbuttoned my shirt and reached around my torso to undo my bra, then he caressed my breasts with both hands as he kissed me. I could feel his hardness up against me. I reached down and unzipped his pants. He took his right hand off my breast and undid his belt, then pushed his pants down.

When we were both ready, he took me there, on top of the barrel. I didn’t have to worry about Buddy any more, the horses were used to Doc and I having sex in the barn. Him spanking me where they could see was a first.

After we both came - simultaneously - we do that a lot - Doc was still hard. I got off the barrel and turned around and he entered me from behind. Neither of us were thinking of my foot.

Later, on our way back to the house, Doc remembered. “Hon, I need a spanking for forgetting about your foot when I was making love to you from behind.”

“I will have to owe you one. I’m too tired to put any strength behind spanking you right now.”

“That was much better therapy than grooming a horse, hon.”

Alex kept his word and dropped the topic of the wedding. Doc got over his anger and life returned to normal.

The next week, I had the ultrasound that Doc had said he would order. As on previous occasions, he wanted to be present to watch. There weren’t any obvious cysts but there was a bump on my left ovary that Doc said could be the beginnings of one. I groaned.

“I’m going to get another scan in two months instead of three, Meredith. If it weren’t for court in September, I’d do it then. I want you to tell me if you have *any* pain in that region, okay?”

“I hope that’s not what it is.”

“I do, too, sweetie. But if it is, we’ll deal with it.”

That weekend, we went to look at the cabin we had our eye on. The realtor had said we could stay for the weekend. The asking price was a little high for the area, so they hadn’t had a lot of inquiries. Doc and I were well able to afford it, but we decided if we liked it, we’d make an offer and donate the difference to charity if it was accepted.

The owners had a dog, so Jessie was welcome as it was advertised as having had pets and she wasn’t destructive. We set out mid afternoon on Friday. Even though we were taking my minivan, Doc insisted on driving. He’s funny like that, I think it makes him feel less manly if I drive, even though he complains about my lowly minivan - in a teasing way. He’s not an elitist. Heck, if he was, he’d never have gotten involved with me.

We got there late afternoon. The cabin was out of the way, with no others within a quarter of a mile. Which is exactly what we wanted. Doc unlocked the front door with the key he found where the realtor said it would be. We stepped into the living room. It was small and cozy with a fireplace on one wall. The furniture was included in the sale. It wasn’t my style, but we could always buy new and donate the old.

There was a small eat-in kitchen with fairly new appliances. Doc was pleased. I preferred something more rustic, but I knew he wouldn’t be comfortable with that. There were three bedrooms, and a full bathroom. There was even a small laundry room. It was winterized with oil heat. If we decided to buy it, we’d spend a couple weeks or more here for our honeymoon in January.

Doc told me to sit down while he brought our bags in. I noticed he’d brought his medical bag. He takes that *everywhere*, but I get why. He wants to have it in case someone is in need of help. Though I don’t think that’s the only reason he brought it here this weekend.

The cabin was north of Williams Lake, so the weather was cooler. That was fine by me. I prefer it that way. It was already starting to cool down for the night, so I started a fire while Doc heated up the meal we’d brought. He had made up a couple suppers for us to bring.

That night, while we were getting settled in bed, he asked “What do you think, hon?”

“I like it, so far. How about you?”

“I do, too.”

The next morning after breakfast, we went for a walk in the woods. I had brought my assless jeans and I wore them and that old blue shirt of Doc’s. Jessie was in heaven - a new place to explore and discover where the squirrels were hiding.

Doc had relented and let me walk with only one crutch, but I had to promise to stay off my feet the rest of the day. We walked hand in hand for a while, then he let go of mine and grabbed the back of my - his - shirt and slammed me up against a tree. I don’t know what it is about walks in the woods that makes him so horny.

When we got back to the cabin, the realtor was there, waiting for us. “I hope you weren’t waiting long”, Doc told her.

“About 10 minutes - no worries”, she said.

We made introductions as we’d only talked to her via email and phone. Her name was Kallie. “How do you like it?” she asked.

“We love it”, Doc said. I nodded.

“Good. Will you be making an offer?

“Quite possibly. We’ll stay until tomorrow, then take a few days to decide for sure. Why don’t you come in for coffee?” We went inside and Kallie sat in a chair in the living room. Doc went into the kitchen to make coffee.

“Sit down, Meredith. You probably need a rest”, Kallie said to me.

I thought of Doc and I up against the tree. I did not want to sit down without cleaning myself, so I said I had to go to the bathroom first. I cleaned up, then made a detour to the bedroom to change clothes. I suddenly realized that Kallie would have seen my backside as I walked away from her and hoped the outline of the hole in the back of my jeans wasn’t visible through Doc’s old shirt.

When Doc served coffee, he noticed my change of clothes. “Hon, you didn’t need to change. I’m sure Kallie didn’t mind you being in old clothes”, he teased.

“No, you were fine”, Kallie said.

“The jeans are a bit loose, they are an old pair. I‘ve lost some weight.”

After the realtor had left, I swatted Doc in play. “What’s that for?” he asked.

“Hon, you didn’t need to change. I’m sure Kallie didn’t mind you being in old clothes”, I replied, trying to mimic his voice.

“I’m sure she didn’t.”

“She might have had I sat on the owner’s furniture …” Doc shut me up with a kiss.

“You know, Doc … I owe you a spanking.”

“You do? Okay, over my knee.”

“No, silly. You are the spankee. For forgetting about my foot that day out in the barn.”

“Oh, that. I was just joking, hon.”

“Really? I’m not. Over my knee.”

“Meredith…”

“Doc, do I ever refuse to let you spank me?”

“No, but you enjoy it.”

“You’ll enjoy this.”

“No, I won’t.”

“Care to make a wager, Doc?”

“What shall we bet?”

“If you don’t get hard, then I’ll let you give me an enema.” He had been wanting to do that, but I’d said a flat out no. “If you get hard, then you give me that fucking on an exam table in your clinic I’ve been wanting.” I had wanted to do it with me on the table in stirrups in his clinic, but he had stalled and stalled, even though he had enjoyed bending me over the table at the office Christmas party last year. While I was tempted to say it had to be during clinic hours, I knew that was a line he would not cross. We have our own at home and I love it, but there’s an extra thrill doing it in a real clinic’s exam room.

“Ok, hon, you have yourself a bet.” He stood up and pulled his pants down, then lay over my knee.

“Underwear too, Doc.” He pulled the back of his shorts down over his butt. “Front, too. You are not going to try to hide an erection behind tight shorts.” He sighed and stood up to lower them, then lay over my lap again.

“My, oh my, what a spank able ass you have, Doc.”

“Just get it over with, Meredith.”

I brought my hand down on his cheeks. “I‘ll spank you on my time frame, Doc, not on yours.” I brought my hand down again. “Your ass is going to look even better when it’s red.” Another whack. Then another and another.

It seemed I was going to lose our bet. Doc was still soft. I knew I couldn’t keep spanking him much longer. I had to make it about the same length of time he spanked me for, or he’d cry foul. I was thinking it was almost time to stop and had resigned myself to getting the dreaded enema when I felt it. He was semi hard. A few more spanks and he was standing at attention. “Looks like I get to have sex in your clinic, honey. Where’s that cream you put on my red ass?”

“In my bag”, he said sheepishly.

“Let‘s go.” He pulled his pants up and we headed to the bedroom. I sat down on the bed and he got the cream out of his bag. I told him to drop his pants again and lie over my lap. I rubbed some into each cheek. He was still hard. I let my hand wander down and between his legs, giving his balls a gentle squeeze. “We’ll continue after lunch, sweetheart.” It was after 1:00 and I was hungry.

“Meredith - finish what you started.”

“Sorry, Doc, I’m hungry.”

He got up off my lap. I stood up, intending to head for the bathroom, then the kitchen. Doc grabbed me and sat down on the bed, pulling me over his knees. Have I said before that he can move fast when he wants to?

“Doc, what the heck??”

“Pants down.” He tugged at my waistband. “Undo the button and zipper.” I tried to squirm off his knees, but he had a firm grip on me. He slapped my clothed butt a couple times, then reached over my back and under my side to get to my front. I could feel him tugging at the button on my jeans. I kept squirming and finally managed to get out of his grasp. I stood up and ran out of the bedroom.

Doc was right behind me. I ran out to the living room and around the furniture and back to the bedroom. Jessie jumped down from the chair and joined the chase. I tried to shut the door behind me, but Julian was too close and pushed on it from the other side.

“Use your safe word if you need it, Meredith.”

“Don’t need it, Doc.”

In that very short exchange, we established that this was all consensual - a game. I stopped resisting and the door flew open. I ducked under Doc’s arm and ran back out to the living room and to the door. Opening it, I ran outside, not bothering to put shoes on. My left foot was wrapped but my right one was bare. I ran around the cabin to the back door. Somewhere along the way, I felt something sharp under my right foot.

Julian was right behind me. I ran down the hall. Fortunately, the floor was bare, just finished wood. “Meredith, you’re bleeding!” he called out.

“Nice try, Doc!”

“Seriously, hon. Unicorn!” He had never set a safe word for himself, so was using mine. I stopped.

“Where am I bleeding?”

“Your foot.” I looked down and sure enough I had bled all the way down the hall. Doc picked me up and took me to the bathroom where he set me down. “Sit on the toilet seat, hon. Let me see.” He looked at the bottom of my foot and pulled a bunch of toilet paper off the roll, wadded it up and held it to the cut. “Let me get the bleeding stopped and then I’ll get a better look, but you definitely need stitches. What were you doing, going outside without shoes?”

“If I had stopped to put them on, you’d have caught me.”

“I caught you anyway.”

“Yeah, I see that.”

Doc got the bleeding stopped and washed the cut out. He got a bottle of antiseptic solution from the first aid kit in the car and poured some over it. “I’ll get this bandaged, then we’re going to the nearest hospital for stitches.”

“How far away is that?”

“I think it’s about 45 minutes.”

“You stitch it up, Doc. I know you have the required materials in the car.”

“No, you need it looked at to make sure there’s no dirt in it. Maybe even a consult to make sure there’s no neurological damage. Now, let me see your other foot.” He took the bandage off and felt around it.

“Ouch, Doc!”

“Hurts?” I nodded. “I’m not surprised. You are not supposed to be walking on it, let alone running. I’ll get them to x-ray it at the hospital.”

“Doc, I’m tired. I just want a nap.”

“Sleep in the car. You are going to the hospital and that’s final.” He had that look and that tone that told me I better not argue.

“I’m going to get a spanking for this, aren’t I?”

“Darn right you are. But not right now.”

Twenty minutes later, we were on our way. Doc took the time to mop the floor first. “If this was our cabin, I’d leave it for later. But it’s not ours, at least not yet, so I want to get this done now, just in case Kallie comes by.” That was a load of BS, he’d have mopped it up even if it was ours. Unless I was bleeding uncontrollably or unconscious or something. Fortunately, I was neither.

A while later, we arrived at a small country hospital. It almost seemed deserted, it was so quiet. Because I’d never been there before, I had to give a lot of information to the registration clerk. It seemed the questions would never end. Finally, we were shown to a room. The ER doc, an older man named Ralph Braxton, asked me what happened. Doc and I had decided on the way to give as little info as possible without lying.

“I was running outside and must have stepped on a sharp stone or something.”

“Why were you running barefoot outside?”

“I’m a bit impulsive.”

“I’ll say!” He looked at my foot, which was swelling underneath, and wanted an x-ray to rule out any bone damage. Doc spoke up and suggested he get one of my other foot at the same time. “Why?” he asked.

“She sprained it a couple weeks ago and it’s swelling up again. She should not have been running on it.” The ER doc gave me a “Seriously, Meredith??” look.

“Like I said, I’m impulsive.”

X-rays showed no broken bones, and Dr Braxton said the wound was clean so he stitched it up. “Did you say you are thinking of buying the cabin?” he asked us as he worked.

“Yes, so you’ll probably see more of us”, Doc replied.

“I’m very accident prone”, I said.

“I hope you don’t hurt yourself close to your wedding.”

“She’s going to be on house arrest for a few weeks prior”, Doc told him. They both laughed.

Fifteen minutes later, we were on our way back to the cabin, with instructions for me to stay off my feet for two weeks, until the stitches came out. “I can’t do that!” I said to Doc as he drove. “It’s impossible for me to not use at least one foot.”

“I will help you as much as I can, hon. First thing I’m going to do when we get home tomorrow is put a catheter in.”

“Like hell you are!”

“Meredith, calm down. Think about it, hon. You aren’t going to be able to walk to the bathroom on your own. I can carry you, but I don’t think you want me to do that *every* time you have to pee.”

“We have a wheelchair, Doc.”

“Yes, but it won’t get through the bathroom doorway. And no, you are not walking even that short distance.” I groaned.

“Think of the sex. You love sex with a catheter in.” I perked up a bit. He was right - I do. “In the meantime, I’ll carry you where you need to go in the cabin.”

When we got back, Doc walked around the perimeter to see if he could find what may have cut my foot. He came in carrying a large piece of a broken beer bottle. “Hon, I think this is what you stepped on. I know you had a tetanus shot when you got thrown from your horse a year ago, but when we get back home, I’ll get the vaccine and give you a dose. There’s more broken glass out there, I’m going to find a garbage bag and pick it all up.”

“I wish I could help you, Doc.”

“Don’t worry about it, Meredith.”

“I do, Doc. I know how much you hate doing outside work.”

“This is something to keep you, Jessie and anyone else who is here safe. Including wild animals. I will cope.” He must have read my mind about wild animals.

While he was doing that, I reflected on how lucky I was to have Julian. I knew it wasn’t easy for him to clean up outside, but he was putting that fear aside for me. I wished there was something I could do for him.