Despite Monday’s penicillin shot, I didn’t seem to be getting better. By late afternoon Tuesday, my fever had spiked to 103, and I felt worse than ever. Katie, who had taken my temperature this time and given me another suppository, phoned Village Pediatrics and got Jill on the line. Since Liz was due in the next morning anyway for her tetanus booster, they agreed that I should come in at the same time for a follow-up exam and another dose of antibiotics.

We got to the office just before 10:00, and Katie again went to the reception window to check in. The waiting room seemed busier than on Monday, and I felt even more uncomfortable with Liz seated right next to me. Fortunately, once again, no one else I knew came in.

After about a 15-minute wait, Jill appeared at the door leading back to the exam area. She wore the same scrub pants and still had a stethoscope around her neck, but her shirt today had a teddy bear theme. She greeted the three of us and led the us back down the hall.

We were once again assigned to exam room 3, with a fresh sheet of butterfly-printed crinkly paper pulled over the exam table. My head was drawn inexorably to the two thermometer jars on the work counter; my heart skipped a beat when I saw that both the “O” and the “R” containers were still there with their different shaped thermometers. There was also a filled syringe on a tray, smaller than the penicillin one Jill had used on me the day before; I figured it must be Liz’s tetanus booster.

“Let’s start with Liz,” Jill suggested, “since hers should be quicker.”

Looking at Liz, she said, “I know it’s just a tetanus booster, but I still need to get your vitals first.”

Liz stepped on the stool to climb up and sit on the table, while Katie and I sat down in the “parents” chairs. Jill picked one of the slender-tipped oral thermometers from the “O” jar, shook it down, and placed it under Liz’s tongue. I have to admit, I felt a twinge of jealousy at that moment, seeing my twin sister being treated like an adult, staying fully dressed and having her temperature taken orally. Liz looked my way and gave me one of those “I-know-what-you’re-in-for” looks, and I started to dread my upcoming turn on the exam table.

Jill proceeded with Liz’s pulse and blood pressure. After a few minutes, she retrieved the thermometer from Liz’s mouth, read it, rinsed it, and replaced it in its jar.

“Everything looks great, young lady!” she chirped. “Let’s get that booster in you! Left arm, or right?”

Liz rolled up her left sleeve for the injection, and within a minute everything was done. She climbed down with a look of satisfaction on her face.

“OK, Luke you’re turn,” Jill said cheerfully. “Why don’t you strip down to your undies for me and hop up on up, so we can get started.”

It wasn’t lost on me that Jill was using more childish language with me than she had with Liz. And I was already seething about Liz’s “adult” treatment. So, when Liz moved to sit down on the chair I had just vacated, I decided to try to assert myself.

“You’re not going to stay, are you?” I asked her as forcefully as I could in my feverish state.

“Oh, don’t such be a baby, Luke!” Liz shot back, almost mockingly. “You are my brother, after all! Besides,” she continued in a softer tone with a smirk and slightly raised eyebrows, “I already saw you naked when I took your temperature yesterday.”

Liz’s response completely deflated me, especially when I saw Jill smile slightly at the “temperature” comment. I knew then that I was beaten. Starting to feel a bit lightheaded, I slowly undressed to my white briefs and climbed up to sit on the exam table. Katie again folded my clothes neatly on the chair next to Liz then walked to the other side of the exam table to observe.

As I sat there, the room started to dim, and stars appeared at the edges of my eyes. Jill must have noticed how pale my complexion had become because she quickly had me lie down to avoid fainting. I settled on my back with my feet pointing toward the door and started to catch my breath.

After a few seconds my head began to clear.

Jill clamped a small probe on my finger to measure oxygen saturation. She then proceeded with my pulse and blood pressure while I lay there in my briefs staring up at the ceiling lights. Despite my condition, the memory of my hand pressed against her breast during the last blood pressure check caused me to get an erection. The more I tried to will it down, the more it grew, expanding the outline of my briefs.

Then came the dreaded announcement.

“I need to take your temperature, Luke. Go ahead and turn over onto your tummy.”

As I watched from my supine position on the table, Jill took a stubby-tipped thermometer from the “R” jar and started shaking it down. Watching her do that made my erection even harder, and it was even more embarrassing knowing that Katie and Liz were there to observe. Despite (or maybe because of) my febrile state, I unwisely decided to try to resist some more.

“Can’t you take it in my mouth this time?” I lamely asked in a voice that must have sounded whiny to everyone else in the room.

Jill smiled sweetly.

“Luke, you’re in no condition to hold a thermometer properly in your mouth right now,” she responded in a slightly condescending voice. “Given your ongoing infection, I need to get an accurate reading. The only way to do that is in your bottom, even if it’s a little uncomfortable for you. Katie and Liz have already seen it, so there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Now, be a good boy and turn over for me.”

Resenting being spoken to like a child but realizing that I didn’t really have any good arguments, I resigned myself to the inevitable and reluctantly rolled over. The paper crinkled underneath as I repositioned myself. Jill grabbed hold of the waistband of my briefs to pull them down and expose my buttocks. I had to wiggle a bit to get them past my erect penis.

“We might as well get these completely out of the way,” she said as she pulled them down to my feet then off.

Jill spread my buttocks and inserted the thermometer. I shuddered as I felt the cold glass move deep inside me. Katie gently placed one hand on my lower back and one on the back of my thigh as she watched the procedure. That was comforting in a way, but also slightly embarrassing since it made me remember lying across her lap the previous evening. Although I couldn’t see Liz from my prone position, I knew that her eyes were fixated on the glass protruding from my exposed bottom.

My fever was confirmed at 102.3. Jill then had me roll back over and conducted a more thorough exam than she had last time. After listening to my heart and lungs, she seemed to be concerned about my swollen lymph nodes and spent a fair amount of time palpating the various areas with those glands: my neck, armpits, lower abdomen, and groin. The latter was particularly embarrassing because the feel of her warm hands caused my erection to increase. I tried to just stare at the ceiling and avoid eye contact with her.

Finally, when she had finished, she said, “I need to consult briefly with the doctor. I’ll be right back.”

After she left the room, there was an awkward silence. I was acutely aware of my nudity while my twin sister and next-door neighbor looked on. Liz was smiling contentedly in her chair in the corner. Katie maintained her “concerned mom” look as she stood next to me, but I saw from her protruding nipples that she was probably as aroused as me.

Jill came back after a few minutes holding a large syringe.

“You’ve got a pretty virulent strain of strep, so we’re switching you to ampicillin,” she said as she prepared the injection. “Ampicillin has a higher incidence of allergic reactions, so we’ll have to keep you here for 20 minutes after the shot to check your vitals again and make sure there are no other side effects. Go ahead and turn back over.”

At this point, I figured nothing more humiliating could happen to me, so I just accepted the situation. After Jill finished injecting the painful serum into my left buttock, I learned I was wrong.

“I need to move on to another patient now, so it will be our summer intern, Debra Hobbs, who will be back in a few minutes to get your vitals and check you out. In the meantime, you should remain lying down.”

“Debra Hobbs?” I asked incredulously, panic seeping into my voice as I rolled onto my back. Liz was smiling.

“Yes. Don’t worry,” Jill continued, misunderstanding the source of my distress. “She’s very capable. She’s starting nursing school in the fall but has already had a lot of experience with kids. You’ll be in good hands!”

Before she left, she was kind enough to place a small towel over my private parts for a modicum of modesty while I rested. As I lay there, I tried to collect my thoughts.

Debra Hobbs had been one of our high school classmates. She and Liz had taken math and biology classes together for our entire senior year, and she had been over at our house for study sessions of their friend group. I knew she had been planning to go into nursing but had no idea she was working at Village Pediatrics for the summer. To be honest, even though she was cute, I found her a bit bossy and never had a romantic interest in her. So, didn’t feel the same angst that I felt around Katie. But the idea that one of my former classmates (and Liz’s friend) would be practicing intimate nursing skills on me was still troubling.

The door opened a few minutes later, and Debra entered the exam room. Like Jill, she was dressed in scrubs with a cartoon top. I guess she hadn’t been fully briefed on the situation, because she did a double take upon seeing me almost naked on the exam table with Katie and Liz in attendance. She quickly regained her composure.

“Hi, Luke! she said as she stepped toward the exam table. “I saw your name on the work roster but wasn’t sure it was you! Great to see you! I didn’t realize you were still coming to the pediatrician!”

I mumbled some barely intelligible answer, regretting now that I hadn’t pushed Mom to change doctors. Debra went to the counter and had a look at my chart.

“OK, I understand you just got some ampicillin. So, how are you feeling? Any side effects yet?”

“Um…. No…”

“Great! So, I just need to check your vitals then, and you can be on your way,” she cheerily said as she continued to look through my chart.

Then I saw her straighten up slightly as she was reading.

“Oh… It looks like you’ve been getting… That explains it….” She turned around to face me, a slight blush having crept into her face. “I’m sorry, Luke, but I see your earlier temp was taken rectally. I’m going to need to do the same to get a valid comparison. I hope that’s OK?” she asked, almost apologetically.

She glanced briefly at Katie and Liz, as if to get confirmation that they were OK to stay in the room for the procedure. They both just smiled innocently.

I was too embarrassed to do anything except nod slightly, especially after seeing her change in demeanour after she read my chart. My erection was causing the towel to raise up and get pushed to one side, and I was afraid it would fall off.

It was Katie who ended up answering the unasked question hanging in the air.

“He was lightheaded earlier when Jill was checking his vitals, so she decided not to risk taking it orally,” she said, putting a slightly face-saving spin on things.

I was grateful for the explanation and started to relax. Unfortunately, Liz decided to add her own “supportive” commentary to the conversation.

“At home Mom always takes it in his bottom because he doesn’t like thermometer in his mouth,” she said, pretending to be helpful. She had that smarmy look in her eye.

I could have died from shame and was ready to kill my sister. Debra acknowledged the new information with a straight face, but I sensed she was starting to enjoy the situation. She proceeded to take my pulse and blood pressure as I lay there, while making a conscious effort to keep her eyes off the towel. She also remeasured my oxygen saturation. Then she headed back to the counter, pulled a thermometer out of the “R” jar and shook it down. My heart started to race even faster. After applying lubrication, she turned back to me with a little smile on her face.

“Onto your tummy,” she instructed. Implied but unstated in her tone was the message, “I’m going to take your temperature just like your mommy does!”

As I turned, I was unable to keep the towel in place, and my penis was momentarily visible to Debra. I tucked it underneath me as quickly as I could before settling down in a prone position with my chin propped on my hands.

Debra then added what I guess was supposed to be a comforting remark.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed,” she said sweetly. “I take lots of kids’ temperatures like this.”

She spread my cheeks and deftly pushed the thermometer inside my rectum, taking hold of the end as it registered. Lying there like that – penetrated and on full display of these three women – I had trouble making sense of all my emotions. For sure, I felt utterly ashamed. But there was once again something oddly titillating about the whole situation. I didn’t really know how to feel about it all and decided to just lie there and appreciate the moment.

My temperature was unchanged from earlier, as were my other vitals, so I was able to get dressed and check out. I remained silent in the car on the ride home, though Katie and Liz seemed to enjoy talking through a full recap of the exam and planning my care for the next few days. At home I lay down on the couch in the den and dozed off, wondering what would come next.