Nothing wrong with a consult.

[housepital]

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

Someone's throwing a rubber ball against a door. That's not annoying, is it?

"Hey, new guy. Need you for a consult. You don't have family in town, do you?"

Comments

[notatvcharacter]

Luke doesn't look up, at the thunking of the ball. Not immediately. He takes his own sweet time, highlighting a line in the file he's poring over as he answers House. "Name's McCoy."

McCoy who is definitely not a Gotham native, if that accent is anything to go by.

He gives the page another once-over, and finding it to his satisfaction, closes the folder and flips it face-down. Then and only then does he look up. "And correct me if I'm wrong, but that doesn't sound much like a consult question."

[notatvcharacter]

"But when you're waking up." Tap, tap, pen on paper as he looks Eddie in the eye. "Naps?"

[edsidlemirth]

Getting eye contact is tricky. He is squirming, and actively pulling against the handcuff. This only lasts a few moments, when, at least, he goes still again. Maybe he also mumbled something about naps. Who knows?

[notatvcharacter]

Oh, no. You aren't getting away with that, Eddie. "Can you repeat that?"

[edsidlemirth]

"Sometimes, if I have a nap. I think it's the sitting up, or whatever... Maybe it's something else, you know? Maybe?"

[notatvcharacter]

"The sitting up, changes in blood flow. Different signals coming through your brain as you wake up, the tumor making a mess of them. One of the damndest things about this field is, past a certain point every brain is different. We could find out if we really wanted to, but I imagine you'd rather just be rid of the damn thing, and the headaches, as soon as possible."

And the taxpayers would probably appreciate less of their money spent on unnecessary brain-scans for theatrical criminals.

"Were you in a habit of taking naps before March?"

[edsidlemirth]

"No, screw naps. Naps are boring. I hate them. We should probably just get it taken out, yeah. It isn't really important to know why it's doing what it's doing, unless it'll... help, yeah? Yeah. It's fine." He picks up the phone and turns it around in his hands. He's not going to try to keep himself from fidgeting any more.

"I want to know more, but I'm not a doctor. You don't have to be my doctor, if you don't want to be, you know. It's cool..."

[notatvcharacter]

He writes that down, too. Change in sleeping patterns.

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I'd like to see exactly how it's mucking things up, too. But your health comes first." He's patient with the fidgeting, and with the uncertainty, waiting Eddie out with a mild look.

"And why wouldn't I want to be?"

[edsidlemirth]

"Dr. Drake refuses to treat me. I don't want to be obnoxious, but I can't deal with a lot of this. I'm going to freak out at you, over really stupid things. I know I'm wrong, okay? I thought everything was going really well, I really did..."

Yeah, so, personality changes.

[notatvcharacter]

"Some people can take it, some can't." And not just Dr. Drake. There's a reason Luke's a neurologist, and not a therapist of any kind. "I'm not here to fix your mind. Just your brain. If you're being an idiot, I'm gonna tell you so. But I don't. Leave. Patients. I'm a doctor, not a speed-dater."

[edsidlemirth]

"You totally should tell me, because I know I'm not stupid. I don't want to act stupid, believe me. It's really weird. I know it's weird." He sighs and sets the phone down, only to pick it up again a moment later.

"I don't want to even be talking like this, but you're the guy who's going to fix my brain. It's a little obvious it's my most favorite thing ever. Pff. Yeah. I -am- really smart, okay? At least I have that going." Humor works better if you get the tone and pacing down. He has neither. He's rambling awkwardly.

[notatvcharacter]

McCoy chuckles under his breath. "Well, you asked for it." Somewhere, he just knows his ex-wife is laughing about what this poor fool's asked for.

"Oh, I know that. Smart and showy. And like I said, I'm going to do my damndest to keep that intact. As much as some people might regret it."

[edsidlemirth]

"Yeah, I did. Think you're going to make me eat my hat? I have to get it back, first. You won't regret it, though. I'm way more fun when I'm not like this, I promise. I'm sure this will remain profoundly terrifying, though. You probably can't fix that, unless you cut out parts of my brain that are supposed to be there. Okay. Um. I don't understand how this gets cut out. How is it going to affect me, when you cut through my head to get it?"

[notatvcharacter]

"I've been told I've got a bit of a mouth on me." He grins a touch. Hello, understatement.

"It won't be a bed of roses. But it won't be the horrorshow you're imagining, either. It's going to be a craniotomy, which means we're going to have to cut a hole in your head to get in under there and take it out."

Here comes the bad news... "They can be done with the patient awake or put under. With the position your tumor is in, awake is the better option. That way we can test the brain before and during removal, and make sure we aren't getting anything important."

But then, the good news... "We'll knock you out while the drilling's going on, and wake you up again when we get to the brain. No pain. Once you're awake, we'll start stimulating areas of the brain with an electric probe, and you tell us what you feel, so we know what that part of your noodle does for you, if anything. We cut out the tumor, put you back under, and sew you up again."

[edsidlemirth]

"That's awesome, seriously. I look forward to seeing you argue with Dr. House a great deal."

Then he frowns, listening to the whole explanation before he makes any comment. "It sound really interesting, but also really... invasive. Personal. Is that even the right word? Gawd, if I freak out and try to move, I'd screw myself up so bad! As long as it doesn't feel like the spinal tap... oh god, it's surreal, it doesn't feel like this is actually going on." Panic is rising in his voice.

[notatvcharacter]

"Hey. Easy." He keeps his voice mild, level. "That'll happen. You haven't had a lot of time to adjust to the idea.

"You don't have to worry about moving. That's been thought of. Your head'll be in a brace, held still." He holds his hands up near the side of his head. "We've got this down."