Doc-cember Drabbles

by Annetastic

Summary:

A collection of drabbles written using the Doc-cember prompts developed by Voideydew on Tumblr!

Notes:

Welcome to my Doc-cember drabble collection, celebrating Pelican Town's favourite physician! Based on the prompt list developed by the incredible Voideydew on Tumblr!

My goal is to write a drabble each day and the prompt will be in the chapter titles.

Chapter 1: Plane

"This is Dr. H at 52 North 43.5 East. Seeking aerial response. Anyone out there?"

Harvey frowned as he fiddled with the dials.

Static.

He peeked out the window at the plane flying overhead. Pelican Town didn't have a lot of flight traffic, but that didn't stop Harvey from trying to make contact anytime he heard a motor in the distance.

He wished that someone would respond.

Maybe then he wouldn't feel so alone.

He sighed, adjusting the dial again, echoing his plea.

"This is Dr. H at 52 North 43.5 East. Seeking aerial response. Anyone out there?"

Chapter 2: Pickles

Harvey wrinkled his nose as he opened the vinegar, pouring some carefully into each jar on his counter. 

Pierre's had brought in some fresh produce, and Harvey had been unable to resist buying a large assortment, thinking that maybe he would cook a few fresh dinners. Unfortunately (and rather predictably), he'd gotten distracted by work - the new farmer seemed determined to keep him busy with small injuries - and he hadn't had the energy to cook. But he didn't want the food to go to waste. 

He closed each jar, sealing them carefully. 

It was a good thing he liked pickles.

Chapter 3: Glasses

"Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!" 

Harvey groaned, blearily reaching for his alarm clock, cursing when it crashed to the floor. He scrambled, the incessant buzzing adding to his anxiety when he realized he'd set the alarm wrong and was going to be late.

He fumbled for his glasses, frowning when he couldn't find them. Deciding to worry about that later, he hurriedly got dressed, drank a cup of instant coffee (yuck!) and made it to the clinic just as Maru unlocked the door. 

"You okay, Doc?" she asked with concern.

"Yeah," Harvey grunted. "I just… can't find my glasses."

"Harvey… you're already wearing them."

Chapter 4: Suit

Harvey picked at the worn cuff of his jacket. In the excitement leading up to his medical school interview, he'd forgotten that he'd need something more formal to wear in order to make a good impression.

And Harvey really wanted to make a good impression.

In a moment of desperation, he'd headed up to the attic, digging through his late father's clothing to see if anything had been packed away after… well… after. He finally unearthed a green suit jacket, worn but clean, deciding it would have to do.

Who knows? Maybe his father's suit would bring him good luck.

Chapter 5: Coffee

Harvey rolls over, not ready to give up his contented slumber for the harsh reality that awaits him with a new day.

He's had that dream again.

You and him. Married. Happy. Living together on the farm. His deepest desire. His favourite dream.

The smell of coffee wafts through the air.

"That's odd," he murmurs, wondering if he's smelling Pierre's morning brew through their shared heating system.

Reluctantly he opens his eyes, trying to make sense of what he's seeing.

The floor creaks. The bed shifts.

"Morning, sweetheart," you murmur, placing a cup of coffee into his hand. "Sleep well?"

Chapter 6: River

Harvey leaned against the tree by the river, next to the bridge leading to the beach, trying to appear casual. "Just a guy standing by a tree," he murmured. "Nothing to see here. Certainly no ulterior motives."

Liar!

But who knows… Maybe today would be the day he'd finally have the courage to talk to his crush. 

Elliott crossed the bridge, greeting Harvey with a friendly smile, leaving after a rather long conversation. 

New footsteps sounded on the bridge. 

"Ahoy Harvey," Willy greeted him as he passed.

Harvey stammered out a greeting in return. 

Well, he thought. There's always tomorrow.

Notes:

Willvey anyone?

Chapter 7: Wine

Harvey took a deep breath as he opened the Saloon door, wondering if he was making a big mistake by showing up at all.

Surely as the town's new (and only) doctor, he should keep a cordial distance between himself and the townsfolk. After all, doctor-patient confidentiality was much easier if you didn't interact with your patients outside of work. But after a month of setting up the clinic and only talking to patients, he was craving someone to talk to.

"Ah!" Gus smiled at him warmly as he stepped inside. "You're just in time for the farmer's wine tasting!"

Chapter 8: Shave

Harvey sighed as he rifled through the microwaved meals in his freezer.

Turkey dinner? Hmm… maybe. The mashed potatoes never microwaved properly, though, and he didn't feel like both burning and freezing his mouth at the same time.

Liver and onions? Gross! Why had he even bought that one?

Harvey took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, slipping them back on his nose and staring at the box a little more closely. "Are the peas upside down?" he murmured.

He put the box back in the freezer and pulled out the shaved roast beef. It would have to do.

Notes:

I know it's not a microwave meal, but have you seen the picture of takeaway food where the peas are upside down?

Chapter 9: Pyjamas

Harvey took a sip of mulled wine, allowing himself to relax a little as he admired the decorations on the Winter Star tree.

Evelyn does such a lovely job with it. He about to head over to her when he heard a small voice.

"Um… Doctor Harvey Dude?"

Harvey grinned as he turned to greet Vincent, who had picked up the salutation from his older brother.

"I'm your secret gift giver this year!" Vincent reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of clay, plopping it into Harvey's hand.

"Thanks Vincent!" he beamed.

At least it's not pyjamas again.

Notes:

"Doctor Harvey Dude" is a small nod to HullyGee's excellent fic Sensitive Information in which Harvey rents out his apartment to Sam and Sebastian. I cannot recommend this fic more, so definitely give it a read if you haven't already!

Chapter 10: Sorrow

Notes:

CW: grief

"Sorry for your loss, Doc."

"Our deepest condolences."

"If there's anything we can do, please let us know."

The well-meaning words circled in the air around Harvey. He couldn't be sure if he nodded or responded or if he would be able to remember in thirty seconds who had said what. 

It didn't matter.

Nothing mattered anymore, really. 

How could anything matter without you? Your smile. Your laugh. Your sense of whimsy that made him want to get out of bed every morning.

All gone. Forever.

And the worst part was that when it really mattered, he couldn't save you.

Chapter 11: University

Harvey looked around his dorm room as he packed away the last of his belongings, placing his dad's green suit jacket on top of his bag so that he'd easily find it when his mom came to pick him up.

It was crazy to think that this was the last day he'd be a student - unless he decided to specialize. But, even though he was graduating at top of his class and could choose any field he wanted, he'd decided to become a general practitioner.

Maybe one day, he'd return to his alma mater, but for now… Pelican Town awaited.

Chapter 12: Aerobic

Scrape. Floomp. Scraaaape.

Floomp.

Harvey shuffled his feet, trying not to slip on the layer of ice under the foot of freshly fallen snow.

Scrape. He pushed his shovel along the ground.

Floomp. He tossed the snow onto the growing snowbank beside the steps to the clinic.

Scrape. Floomp.

Repeat.

Harvey leaned against his shovel. The first part of last night's "once in a century" blizzard (that seemed to happen every year) was snow mixed with rain, and was exceptionally heavy.

Scrape. Floomp.

It was a good thing aerobics class was cancelled due to the weather. He needed a nap.

Notes:

Can you tell it's snowed a lot this week?

Chapter 13: Convenience Food

Harvey grimaced as he read the ingredients on the label, placing the can back on the shelf. He tried to avoid things like high-fructose corn syrup when he could, but the limited selection at Pierre's sure didn't make it easy for him to make healthier choices.

Dextrose… diglycerides… palm oil… Red 40 for colouring.

Why would cereal need food colouring?

Ah! he thought, picking up a jar of pasta sauce. Tomatoes. Basil. Onions. Garlic. All things he recognized.

He turned the jar over to its front. "The farmer makes pasta sauce now?" he mused.

Well… it was worth a try.

Chapter 14: Balloon

When he was four, Harvey's mom bought him a helium-filled balloon at the fair. She'd barely managed to hand it to him when he'd let go of the string, watching it float up, up, up into the air. He'd giggled as he pointed at it flying away, only frowning once he realized it wouldn't come back to the earth.

He thought about that now as he climbed into the basket of the hot air balloon, before helping you aboard. He was afraid of heights, certainly, but he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if the balloon never landed again.

 

Chapter 15: Flustered

He really is adorable, you can't help but think as you watch Harvey explain the importance of sunscreen to Jas and Vincent at the luau. And he's so confident when he's talking about something he's passionate about. 

You know you should look away, but something about the scene is tugging at your heartstrings. It could be the way Vincent wrinkles his nose while he allows Harvey to spread the sunscreen on his face, or the way Harvey pulls a lollipop out of his pocket when he's done. You're not sure. 

He catches your eye and fumbles the sunscreen bottle. 

Adorable.

Chapter 16: Festive

"You know what this Clinic needs?" Lewis smoothed out his mustache as he looked around the waiting area.

Better funding? Harvey thought. More supplies? Another doctor so that I can take a vacation? 

"Winter Star decorations," the Mayor continued, not waiting for Harvey to reply.

"Hm," Harvey said non-commitally, as he took Lewis' file from Maru and led him to one of the examination rooms.

"Just think about it. Some garland, a wreath, maybe a small Winter Star tree. Something to spruce up the space." He chuckled. "Get it… Spruce?"

"Best I can do is a flu shot," Harvey smiled.

Chapter 17: Jazz

"How about this place?"

Harvey flicked his thumbnail against his finger before hastily shoving his hand in his coat pocket, hoping to hide how nervous he was.

His date - a pretty classmate with long blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes - wrinkled her nose as she peered through the open door. The café was dimly lit, with brown leather booths and the sound of soft jazz music spilling out of the doorway. From where he was standing, Harvey could see a live band playing in the corner.

"I dunno," she said, although it was clear she did. "Seems a little… stuffy."

Chapter 18: Wedding

Notes:

It took 18 days for Sambastian to appear, but here we go!

"I'm afraid it's broken," Harvey said, sympathetically.

"Broken?" Sam asked, fiddling with a small shell in his hand. "Like… Broken broken?"

"Yes," Harvey confirmed. "Like broken broken."

Sam glanced towards the waiting room where Sebastian was filling out paperwork with Maru, hastily shoving the shell in his pocket when Sebastian looked his way. "Seb's gonna kill me," he muttered.

"I'm sure he won't," Harvey said, "but if you're worried, I can over-exaggerate the severity of the injury."

Sam laughed. "You'd do that?"

"Sure," Harvey agreed, wrapping Sam's leg in a cast. "Just make sure to invite me to the wedding."

Notes:

Thank you to HullyGee for the inspiration for this prompt.

Sam's broken leg is based on the events of Chapter 4 of my Sambastian Drabbles, which, in turn, was based on the events of Chapter 11 of In the End, It's Right.

Chapter 19: Appointment

"Thanks for seeing me on such short notice, Harvey," Noah said, limping into the examination room.

"No problem at all," Harvey said, looking at the farmer in concern. "What brings you in today? Is your leg bothering you?"

Noah looked surprised. "My leg?" he frowned, looking down at the offending limb. "Oh! No, that's from a couple of days ago — I tripped over Sam's skateboard and fell off my porch." He shook his head. "No, I've got a splinter in my finger."

Harvey squinted, focusing on the tiny piece of wood in Noah's finger. "Oh. Um… sure. I can help."

Notes:

Noah is my OC. You can read more about him in his series.

Notes:

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