He stops in front of a door, and I take a step back, watching as he reaches out and twists the knob. Turning to look at me, he pushes the door open and gestures for me to enter. “In here, there you go.” He smiles, his eyes betraying his mirth as I hesitantly walk in and glance around. “Gown’s on the table. Remove everything and have a seat. I’ll be back shortly.” I take a deep breath and speak up for the first time. “What about my socks? It’s just that my feet get cold.” I glance down at the cold tile floor and shiver at the thought of my bare toes making contact. He shrugs, and as he pulls the door closed behind him, I hear a chuckle followed by “if it makes you feel better”.

Glancing around the cold sterile room, I feel increasingly nervous. I take a deep breath to steady my hands as I start to unbutton my shirt. Surely this isn’t necessary, being naked and him looking at me, touching me. I just came to get a refill on my migraine medication. It’s hardly my fault that my usual doctor is gone and I’m forced to see someone new. I would leave but being without my meds means enduring several days of misery if a headache strikes.

I slip off my shirt and reach for the gown, wanting to keep as much skin covered as possible, for as long as possible. As I unbutton my pants and slide them down my legs, I mentally brace myself. This is likely going to get worse before it gets better, but I just have to be brave and get through it. Dr. Max, as he told me to call him, seems like he doesn’t tolerate resistance or failure to follow instructions. When the nurse led me to his office for my consult, he insisted on examining me even after I protested, stating again that I just needed my refill. So now here I am, stripping for a stranger. An attractive but brusque and demanding stranger. Folding my pants, I put them on the chair under my shirt. Down to my bra, panties, and the socks I’m not removing, I decide on bra next. Refusing to remove the gown, I reach back to unhook the clasp before writhing around, trying to work the straps out of the armholes of my gown.

It’s just my luck that as I ease the left strap down around my elbow, the cup folded under and pushing my breast up, the door opens. I feel my face flush to a bright red as Dr. Max smirks and shakes his head. “I see you’re not quite ready for me.” I feel his eyes roam over my body, noting my bra struggles and the panties I have yet to remove. “Perhaps it would work better if you slipped off the gown.” He reaches out and slides the gown off of my shoulders before I can process a reply. “Go ahead then, untangle yourself and set your bra to the side. You can just leave your panties on for the time being.” I do as he asks, sliding my bra off and tucking it under my shirt. I turn back to Dr.Max, one hand trying to preserve my modesty and the other reaching for the gown. “Allow me.” He holds open the gown like he’s helping me into a fur coat. Left with no choice but to comply or be rude, I turn back around and slip my arms into the holes. He pulls it up onto my shoulders and steps away, letting me reach behind my neck to tie the back .

“Finally ready to get started then?” He picks up a tablet and eases down onto the wheeled stool. “I’m only here for a refill of my migraine medicine.” My panic causes me to blurt out my desperate plea for a speedy conclusion to this appointment. “Yes, I see that.” He glances down at the tablet then looks back up at me, making eye contact I can’t seem to pull away from. “Now when was your last checkup? Your last full physical examination?” It could just be my nerves, but it seems like he really drew out the words in that last question. I grimace, shrugging my shoulders. This has now moved into worst case scenario territory. “I… well it’s been… not that long.” Hopefully my decisive conclusion makes up for my initial stammering. “If almost a decade is not that long for you, I guess it’s a good thing I’m here to look after you today.” He stands up, setting the tablet aside and walks over to the counter. “Let’s start with something simple, ease you into it. I’m afraid this will need to be a more exhaustive exam to make up for lost time. Luckily I have the afternoon clear.” The rock I can feel in the pit of my stomach grows as I groan. “Surely it won’t take that long?” My mind races, wondering what he could possibly subject me to for several hours before deciding the answer is nothing good. He turns back around, holding a thermometer and I relax the slightest bit. “That will depend largely on if you’re compliant and do what I say or not.”

It’s only then that I notice the lubricant he’s holding in his other hand. “Stand in front of the table, turn around and lean forward until your chest is flat. Stretch your hands up over your head and hold still.” My panic instantly spikes and I start to babble. “But I’m an adult. This is absurd. You’re not putting that there. I won’t. I refuse. You can’t make me.” Dr. Max just stands there smirking waiting for me to quiet and realize I’ve backed myself up to the end of the table, right where he wanted me. “I can and I will. It’s simply the most accurate method. If you’re an adult, as you so eloquently declared just moments ago, why are you behaving like a small child?” I freeze, stunned, and I feel his hand on my shoulder turning me to face the table. His fingers between my shoulder blades ease my forward until I’m flat on my chest. “Where are your hands supposed to be?” Unable to think straight in the moment, I place my hands up over my head, waiting in a mix of fear and anticipation for what I know is coming.

I feel a pat on my rear. “That’s a good girl. It wasn’t so hard to just follow instructions was it? Just relax, I’m going to take good care of you and we’re going to make sure every last part of you is healthy, okay?” I take in a stuttering breath and nod my head. “That’s right, you’re okay.” I feel one hand resting on my lower back momentarily before his other hand starts to ease my panties down. He stops just above my knees, then lays his free hand on my right cheek. “It’s ok, no big deal, just going to check your temperature and make sure you aren’t running a fever. That would be a sign that something wasn’t right. We’d have to make sure to figure it out and get you fixed up.” I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to retrace how I ended up here, bent over the table with my panties around my knees. Just as I decide that the real question is how do I get out of this situation, I hear the snap of an exam glove.

“Just relax now, this may feel a bit uncomfortable but it won’t hurt.” His hand is touching my cheek, pulling it, spreading them apart and exposing the last place I expected to have exposed when I arrived for my appointment. “You’ll feel me touch you now. This will feel a bit cool, then I want to you to bear down like you need to go to the bathroom as I slide my finger in.” His finger?!? I start to push up off of the table and his hand moves from my cheek to my lower back. “You’re going to need to stay in the position I put you, or you’re not going to like the consequences.”

His lubed finger touches my anus, circling slowly. I gasp, wiggling my hips in a hopeless effort to move away. The hand on my lower back tightens and the circling finger starts to push inside. “We can do this the hard way or the easy way, but either way we are making sure you are healthy.” The finger breaching me rotates twice before sliding out, only to be immediately replaced with a cold hard tube. I try not to squirm again, but can’t help it. “You’re going to have to hold still or this is just going to take longer. If I have to hold this thermometer instead of beginning my questions, it’s just going to draw out this whole thing.”

My whole body tenses. I try to take a deep breath, but find I can’t. I start to shake. I feel a hand lightly rubbing my lower back just before I feel a hard smack on my ass. “Snap out of it and breath. This is just a little exam, no panicking necessary.” I shake my head and turn to glare over my shoulder at Dr. Max. “That’s better.” He takes his hands off my skin and turns to pick up the tablet again. “Now, if we can get started on these questions. Tell me about your period. When was your last cycle? Are they regular? How heavy is your bleeding? Do you experience negative symptoms before hand?”

I frown, glaring harder and shaking my head. “That was more than a question. Finished on the 10th. Yes. I don’t know, moderately heavy? I have nothing to compare it to. Cramps, sometimes debilitating and migraines.” He nods, listening and ignoring my glaring. “Debilitating? Give me more info. Does ibuprofen help? Does it interfere with your daily life?” He actually sounds like he cares, confusing me after his previous firm indifference. “There’s a day or two immediately before each cycle where I’m basically bed ridden. I’ve tried every over the counter option, heating pads, even acupuncture. Nothing does more than slightly lessen the pain. Luckily I work for myself so I can plan around it and just stay home in bed.” He looks up at me, making eye contact and frowning. “That’s not acceptable. No one should have to endure that. We’re going to get to the bottom of this and find you some relief.”

I smile tentatively and nod. “No doctor has ever said more than take pills and deal with it. Thank you.” He sets the tablet aside again, dismissing my gratitude and stands. “Time to check the thermometer.” I feel his hand on my cheek again, and squirm a bit as he pulls it out of my tight little hole. He wipes it off and looks at it, sighing. “100.4, you have a fever. Have you been feeling ill? Any pains or discomfort anywhere?” I shake my head, frowning. “I’m healthy, never sick, so complaints. I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.” Now it’s his turn to glare at me. “It is something to worry about. You have a fever, that’s a sign your body is fighting something off. It could be nothing big or it could be something. I can’t just overlook it and hope you feel better soon. What kind of doctor would that make me?”