The Doctor looked around his empty office and saw his last patient of the day sitting and waiting all by herself. He walked over to her.
"I'm sorry you were left here alone, ma'am. My receptionist and the rest of the staff had to leave early. If you'd come with me please."
The Patient stood up, grasping a clipboard. "This is my first time here, and they gave me this paperwork to fill out," she said. "I just finished it, but there was no one left to give it to. Do you want it?"
The Doctor smiled. "Yes, I do," he said. "I need the information since this is the first time I've had you here. Please come with me."
He gestured her to go ahead of him, and as she passed, he placed his hand on the small of her back to guide her to the hallway. As the touched, he felt something like an electrical charge go up his arm. He saw her startle just a bit, and knew she felt that same charge.
"Careful," he thought. "She's a patient. Ethics, ethics."
"How did you decide to come to our clinic," he asked.
"It was recommended," she replied. "I was told you are the only one that gives treatments of this kind. I was also told I would be extremely satisfied with the way you do things here."
"That's quite a compliment. It's the last door on the right. Turn in here."
The New Patient took three steps into the room and stopped cold. She looked around, just a bit confused. "This is an examination room?" she asked.
The Doctor gave a small smile. "Yes it is. You'll find we do things a little differently around here. The changes are for the patient's benefit, as you'll find out."
He gestured to the other end of the room. "The old examination tables are quite uncomfortable, to be honest, and the traditional stirrups aren't much better. No matter what we do, they're quite cold, so we replaced them with a bed. That way, you can lie down comfortably."
"But it's a waterbed," she responded.
"Of course," said the Doctor. "It's a heated bed, kept at the proper temperature, so it's warm on the skin when you lay down. It's all a matter of comfort."
The New Patient walked over to the waterbed. The Doctor said, "Now, if you please, take off your clothes and lie down."
As she began to disrobe, the Doctor got a good look at her. The New Patient was short, with red hair – no, auburn hair he corrected himself, solidly built and very, very attractive with a light dusting of freckles on her face and across the top of her breasts. He again reminded himself to stay under control. "Ethics, ethics," he whispered to himself.
Now came the ticklish part. The Doctor began to take his clothes off as well. The New Patient had climbed onto the bed and turned and gasped "What are you doing?"
The Doctor finished undressing. "Again, as I said, we do things differently around here," he said. "When one is clothed, and the other is not, there is an issue of dominance and power. Now, especially since there aren't any nurses around for this examination, I think it's even more important for there to be a level playing field between us. Do you understand what I mean?" he added.
She gave him a funny look. He smiled. "Remember, I am a doctor, and a therapist. I have a code to live by, and ethics and responsibilities to my patients. Trust me, okay?"
The New Patient visibly relaxed and sat back, propped up by large pillows placed on the bed. The Doctor began to read over the information on the clipboard. He nodded a couple of times and made a notation on the paperwork.
"Okay, I see here that you're having an issue with vaginal dryness. At your age -- well, our age actually, since we're about the same age," he smiled, "it's not that unusual. Sometimes there are physiological reasons, sometimes it's psychological. Let's get started."
The Doctor smiled. "Here's one more difference at this clinic. We try not to use the stuffy medical terms when talking about your body. It's so unnatural. We instead use standard terms for your body and its parts. We find that patients talk more naturally and give us better information. It's less formal and stiff around here."
The New Patient looked at the Doctor's face, and then her gaze dropped down. "Less stiff, hunh? You could have fooled me about the stiff part."
The Doctor blushed slightly. "Uh, well," he stammered, "yes, well...."