Coldsnap: The Billionaire Alpha's Fated Pregnant Princess (GL)
Chapter 67 - Collecting Vitals And Samples

Chapter 67: Chapter 67 - Collecting Vitals And Samples

"We’ll just get your vitals and some basic information before you see Dr. Lang."

The nurse explained after leading me into a fairly small room dominated by a number of pieces of medical equipment. She first directs me toward a scale and height measurement tool.

"Could you please take off your bags and set them aside? Phone or wallet too, please. Your shoes do look light, but remove them as well so we can get as close as possible."

I couldn’t see any strong reason not to listen to the professional’s request, so I placed everything down and slipped out of the pair of flats. The card remains in my pocket though, since I do not have a wallet.

"Now, if you could step on the scale?"

Standing on the platform while she adjusted the weights until they balanced was amusing. For some reason, I thought of myself as a large bag of spice being traded and valued in the market.

Or perhaps livestock, but that feels too degrading!

"One hundred and thirty-five pounds."

She noted this aloud while recording the number on a tablet. I have no idea if it is accurate or if the number has changed since I’ve arrived.

I have been eating quite a lot, for a human. Or even for Helene...

"And now height..."

"This is an interesting device. May I know what it is called?"

"Huh? Oh, the stadiometer. Is this your first time having one used?"

I nodded as she raised the bar over my head before moving where I was directed. Standing straight without slouching, it was lowered down carefully until it touched my crown.

"Five foot six. Beat me by an inch. So, how was it?"

More tapping on her tablet as she asks me - and I’m not sure what to say. I suppose it was painless, though I can imagine a less careful person banging it too hard.

"There was nothing really to it. A very practical invention."

> At least more accurate than bits of pre-knotted string. <

The woman smiles and nods. I suppose I didn’t leave much room to continue the conversation.

"Now, if you could have a seat over here."

The indicated chair was far less comfortable than the waiting room kind. She wrapped a strange looking sleeve that attached to itself with ’velcro’ around my arm.

"And this is?"

"Blood pressure cuff. It will feel tight for just a moment, okay?"

She warned me before inflating it. I watched with mild curiosity as the gauge needle jumped and eventually settled somewhere.

"Blood pressure is 110 over 70. That’s normal for what seems like the good health you are in."

She removed the ’cuff’ and placed another device on my finger. A small medical contraption of a hinged plastic piece with a wire connected.

Applied to my fingertip with a muted click, it wasn’t uncomfortable, just... there.

"This one is an oximeter. We use it to read your pulse rate and blood oxygen levels."

A tiny red light glowed steadily from within. I ignored the numbers that danced on the small screen facing away from me, focusing instead on keeping my hand steady as instructed.

Eventually, the device beeped softly.

"Pulse 62, oxygen 99%. All excellent numbers."

Nancy pulled out something I was pretty sure I knew this time. A digital ’thermometer’.

Helene has memories of her mother using it on her, once. Though the nurse placed the long end of this one in what seems to be a plastic sheath and held it out to me.

"Under your tongue, please."

Placing it down is a little awkward, but not impossible. The thermometer alerts that it was done checking after another small wait.

"99.7 degrees. That is roughly normal for Dr. Lang’s patients. The women she sees run hotter than usual."

I take note of that detail. It is not as though I know whether any of the other results were very different from a human.

The pregnancy book may have mentioned some numbers, but I didn’t pay attention to a lot of those at the time. However, the fact that she said this now, means that everything else must be average for her experience with ’normal’ people.

So our internals run hotter as werewolves... that only makes sense. After all, beasts are designed to survive winters with much less shelter than these humans use.

"Now, I understand from your form that you’re here about a possible pregnancy?"

"Yes."

"The doctor is particular, so some of these basic details about that she will want you to go over with her, yourself. But I’m to ask if you have been experiencing any particular symptoms that concern you?"

I think for only a moment or three. All in all, there is nothing I could call a physical indicator of bad things.

"Not especially."

"Any nausea, fatigue, dizziness?"

For a few seconds, I consider not saying anything at all. But I do.

"I did throw up this morning, but that was because I stressed myself out over the results I might hear today. Some fatigue, but nothing excessive. I have been walking... the city a lot."

Nancy made notes on what I said. Sharing so much with a relative stranger feels wrong.

"And your current living situation? Do you have stable housing?"

"It’s... you can say that my life is in transition."

Her expression remained fairly neutral, but I caught a flicker of concern at all the corners. The kind people make when they hear something they don’t like to, but have heard before.

"Well, we have resources available if you need assistance with housing or other basic needs. Just let us know and we can have those discussions after your check-up."

"Thank you."

A sense of charity really is strong in these people. Not that humans in my world were especially selfish, but so many were doing all they could to get by on their own.

That fact seems to still exist here, of course, which explains why almost no one talked to me when I was actually dressed like I might need the ’help’.

"Now, we’ll need a urine sample for testing."

She reached into a drawer and produced a small plastic cup with a lid, handing it to me without any sense of what she just said being as strange as it sounds.

"The bathroom is just across the hall. Please fill this to the line marked on the cup, then place it in the metal cabinet inside the bathroom. I’ll bring it to our technician for testing."

"My things?"

"I’ll watch them, don’t worry. When you’re finished, please return here."

I stare at all my possessions with a look that probably says too much. When she clears her throat with an awkward smile, I nod and exit the room.

The bathroom here was a small one, but spotlessly clean and smelling lightly of chemical cleaners. I examined the clear cup I was given more closely, noting that my name had already been printed on a label affixed to it.

The instructions were simple enough... though the concept still seems bizarre. In my world, gathering information from bodily fluids was the domain of mystics.

Not medical professionals that are likely using computers and science rather than magic and feeling.

But I guess if I think of it like the brass vessel I used when it was late at night, it isn’t so bad. Except this thing feels a lot more... disposable than the one regularly cleaned by servants.

I dropped my lower clothes and sat on the toilet, something I’ve done a number of times here already but still find a bit awkward. Compared to the plumbing we had in my kingdom.

> Squatting feels much more natural... <

But as I look around at the wall attached handles in the room, I figure out the reason. Humans are rather prone to developing various health problems that may reduce their mobility.

"Yes, that makes sense. For some it would be difficult to get up and down. And the receptionist did say they serve all women."

I tried not to let the awkwardness of the cup’s design distract me from the task at hand. With some difficulty, I managed to position the cup in what seemed to be the correct way and began filling it with my... sample.

> Vrika... I’ve marked trees and done so many other things as a fox, but somehow this feels wrong! <

What seemed like an eternity of my bladder being stubborn and unwilling passed - but I reached the indicated line and carefully capped the cup. Then placed it in the spot that I was told to and washed my hands rather thoroughly.

"I am never speaking of this, if I can help it."

Nancy looks up from her tablet and waves with a smile when I return. The cheery attitude after what I just did feels a little wrong!