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When Doctor Jack arrives home from Dr. Tribble's office, the first thing he does is make himself that drink. Pouring a few fingers of Tanqueray over ice, he swirls the liquid around for a few moments before taking a sip.
Mmm... better.
Playing some David Byrne at low volume, the good doctor settles into one of his comfy, overstuffed club chairs. Taking another sip of gin, he opens the patient files, one by one, and peruses their contents.
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The first thing that stands out to Doctor Jack is the fact they are all children, ranging in age from 7 to 12 and all have suffered from disturbed dreams. One child, in fact, had stopped attending therapy sessions after contracting what appeared to be a severe case of flu and needed hospital treatment.
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Doctor Jack makes a note of the hospitalized child's name and parental contact information on a post-it and sets that file aside for the moment. Finishing his drink, he looks at the clock before pouring himself another.
Damn, there's still time...
Hospital visiting hours weren't over for a while yet, so Doctor Jack heaves himself up. Turning the music off, he picks up the child's file as he heads toward his front door. As he walks out to his car, he pulls his phone out of his pocket and calls Dr. Tribble's office.
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Doctor Jack waits as the line rings, hoping Glenda answers.
"Hello, Dr. Tribble's office, Glenda speaking."
"Hello Glenda, it's Jack Carlton. I'm calling to see when you might be free for that dinner."
Glenda didn't know what to say. She had been expecting the call but not so fast.
"Oh, hi Jack. I'm free tomorrow if it suits you."
"Tomorrow suits me just fine. Should I pick you up, or would you like to meet somewhere?"
"Depends. What do you drive?" she asks with a joking tone.
"A silver Lexus ... I finally knuckled under and bought a hybrid."
Doctor Jack gets into said car and soundlessly starts the engine as Glenda chuckles.
"Well, that's alright then. I can't be going on a date in some battered piece of metal."
"Perish the thought. So, what time should I pick you up?"
Glenda gives Jack a time and the address of her place, a trendy little apartment near to Tribble's office.
"It's a date. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow evening, Glenda. Until then."
"I'm already looking forward to it," she replies before saying goodbye and hanging up.
Putting his phone away, Doctor Jack drives to the hospital indicated in the child's file. Once he arrives, he heads to the Pediatric Ward and inquires at the duty nurse's desk for the child's room.
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The nurse looks up at the man who has approached her and asked about little Damien Spence. "Sorry, you've thrown me. Who are you again?" she asks in a wary voice.
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Doctor Jack opens the boy's file and removes a sheet of paper, which he shows to the duty nurse.
"I'm sorry, it's been a long day. I'm Doctor Carlton. I've taken over Damien's case from Dr. Law... um, Tribble. I have his signed parental consent form right here. How's his condition?"
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The nurse looks at the file to confirm before looking back at Doctor Jack.
"Sorry, Dr. Carlton. You're right about that, it has been long." She hands back the case file to Jack. "Young Damian passed away due to the illness a few days ago. His system couldn't cope with the flu. It was quite a potent dose."
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Doctor Jack pauses for a moment, blinks, then opens his mouth to speak.
"That's terrible. The poor boy... "
He gazes at the nurse with his large, kind eyes.
"I'd like to have a look at his chart if I may."
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