(Note: This is a follow-up that happens after the events from "My Friend Loki: The Price You Pay." Read it first, then return to this moment for better understanding.)

I had just gotten home after my shift at work and was ready to make myself a cup of tea and relax when I heard a knock at my door.

It was my dear friend Loki standing on my doorstep. I had not been expecting him. By the deep frown on his face and his stormy eyes, I could tell something was bothering him.

"Beverlee," Loki said, "I hope I'm not intruding..."

"Of course not," I replied, "you're always welcome here."

I let him in, and as I closed the door, he went on a rant.

"Ha, you won't believe what the initiative requires of me now. A 'physical!' As if I, from beyond this realm, require the same as Midgardians. I hadn't thought SHIELD had that much of a sense of humour."

Seeing that he was still standing, I gestured for him to sit on the couch. He sat down and I walked into the kitchen.

"A physical, huh?" I said, as I pulled out a jug from the fridge, and poured us two small glasses of iced tea, "Despite what you've said, that's actually a good thing... for anybody."

Loki scoffed, "I never had to do this on Asgard. I won't submit to this."

Carrying the glasses of iced tea back to the living room, I placed them on the coffee table. I then joined Loki on the couch.

Looking at him closely, I tried to discern why he was so adamant about not wanting to cooperate.

"Loki," I said, thinking as I spoke, "everyone needs to have a checkup for their health some time or another," taking his hand, I looked into his eyes, "Are you concerned about this? You know many men here are... perhaps you aren't so different from those of Midgard."

Loki remained quiet for a moment. Then a sheepish expression appeared on his face.

"I can't lie to you, can I?" he said quietly and swallowed hard, "I've heard things about what's involved. They may be rumours but..."

"It's okay," I said, "you're not alone with those thoughts. For several reasons, a high percentage of men will avoid a trip to the doctor at all costs, even if they know it might help them. In fact, I just read an article today that men in my country are not as healthy as they should be, most of that attributed to not regularly seeing their doctor when they should have."

Loki now took both of my hands in his, "I'm not overly fond of the idea of having my body fully exposed and left open to be touched, in a cold and clinical - and even possibly invasive manner... along with parts of me being gawked at that I would rather keep private."

"I understand," I said softly, "believe me I do. But, we all have these parts. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Assessing his disposition, I added, "As well, you've had previous experience with Doctor Lowenstein, so you can trust him to be kind. You just have to make it clear that you will agree only if he does the tests."

Loki nodded, but it was clear that the anticipation and the fear of the unknown were still bothering him.

"Look, I know you're worried," I said, releasing my hand to touch his cheek, "so if you want, I can accompany you to your appointment, and be there in the exam room so you can feel more comfortable. "

"You... can do that?" Loki asked, incredulous.

"Yes, I can," I smiled encouragingly at him, "we know SHIELD has previously vetted me, and Doctor Lowenstein shouldn't have any problem." I suddenly had an idea, "You know what, I'm going to call Doctor Lowenstein. Let's find out what they really want from you."

Pulling out my smartphone, I accessed Doctor Tom Lowenstein on my contact list. Pressing the appropriate icons on the touch screen and after a few rings, he answered. I put the phone on speaker.

"Hello?" It was Lowenstein's voice.

"Tom! It's Beverlee."

"Beverlee, it's good to hear from you again. How can I help you?"

"Well," I looked at Loki with a sympathetic smile, "I have a fretting Frost Giant on my couch, wanting to know what all this physical exam business is about, and what's involved."

"Loki doesn't need to fret," Lowenstien said, "we're just going to do some basic procedures. You could call it a reverse baseline report. With the previous experiences he had in our examination room, those records have been filed. We just want to have a comparison of what things look like when he's well." Lowenstein then said, "Loki, if I recall, and you can tell me otherwise, you didn't have any discomfort with the devices and tools we used?"

"No," Loki replied, "they were painless."

"Good," Lowenstein said, "we'll just be using less of them for this."

Loki whispered to me, "Will you still accompany me to my appointment?"

I smiled to myself. Even though Lowenstein had just assured Loki he would be okay, somehow he still distrusted the situation. I didn't blame him - I would have done the same.

Sometimes a simple procedure doesn't always end up that way - like having a dental appointment for a cleaning that goes very well, then right after you find out on your x-ray you have a cavity...

"Tom," I said, "that's great to hear. And Loki's feeling better about it. In any case, because this is Loki's first official physical, for support, I hope you don't mind if I'm also in the exam room with him."

"I just need to confirm that with my patient, Beverlee," Lowenstein said, "Loki, are you permitting Beverlee to be in the exam room with you during your physical?"

Loki looked at me with a smile of relief, "I am."

"Okay, you two," Lowenstein said, "I've made an appointment for Loki to be at the Med Centre at five o'clock tomorrow."

"We'll be there. Thank you, Tom," then I ended the call.

"Here's to teamwork," I said, and we both clinked glasses and then drank our iced tea. "Hey, do you want to stay for supper?"

Loki gratefully accepted.

Standing from the couch, I said in a playful tone, "I heard you're good with knives... you can help me with the salad."

Loki laughed, then stood from the couch and followed me into the kitchen.

****

The next day at five o'clock in the Med Centre...

Loki and I were escorted to the examination room and were waiting for Dr. Lowenstein to arrive. The last time I was here, my friend was being examined by Doctor Lowenstein while Thor and I were in a hallway outside this room watching through the observation window.

It pleased me to see that today the observation window was covered by a thick curtain.

I turned around to give Loki time to change into his patient exam gown. He then sat atop the exam table. I could tell he was still a bit nervous by the way he clutched his hands.

Walking over to him, I took his hands and interlaced them with mine.

"You're going to be fine," I said assuredly.

"I know," Loki said with a sigh, "I just hate this waiting."

Lowenstein then walked into the room.

"Beverlee, Loki!" the greeting came with a smile, "it's been far too long."

"Yes, it has," I said, returning his smile.

"I wish we were meeting under better circumstances," Loki said, in a quiet voice.

"Don't worry," Lowenstein said to my friend, "this will be over sooner than you think." He patted his patient's knee, "I'm going to take your blood pressure first."

Loki nodded.

Releasing our hands, I whispered to Loki, "You so got this," then I walked over to one of the chairs in the corner of the room and sat down - I did not want to get in the way.

From a nearby shelf, Doctor Lowenstien picked up the sphygmomanometer. Wrapping the cuff snugly around Loki's arm, he then pressed the specific button on the mechanism to inflate it.

I always had the innate fear that the cuff would break my arm, but I could see Loki was doing fine.

When the measurement of Loki's blood pressure appeared, Lowenstein looked thoughtful. "Well, the numbers are a little lower than when we first did this procedure. So for now, I'm going to believe that's a good thing."

As I quietly watched Doctor Lowenstein examine my friend, again I felt at ease. Just like before, when a certain device was going to be used, Lowenstein would explain to Loki what he was going to do before he did it.

"I'm now going to listen to your heart and your lungs," Lowenstein said.

Taking his stethoscope from around his neck and putting the ear tips in his ears, Lowenstein placed the diaphragm of the stethoscope on my friend's chest, listening closely. He proceeded to move the chest piece around to various areas and listened to each one. Next, Lowenstein moved to stand behind his patient. Gently he put his hand on Loki's shoulder and had him bend a bit forward, "I'm going to open the gown to expose your back, so I can use the stethoscope to hear things from another perspective. "

How engaging this scene was to me. Loki would look concerned for a moment, then relaxed at the next as he was able to easily comply with each test the doctor requested.

Suffice it to say, Loki never needed my assistance. It made me glad, and also very proud of him. I hoped that with what we talked about earlier and with this new experience if the rare moment did occur that he required another trip to the examination room, he would not shy away from it.

****
After Loki's appointment - with an official certification of passing his physical - we left the SHIELD facility and took a short walk in a lovely park nearby. Spying a bench, we walked toward it.

It felt good to sit together and just enjoy the stillness of the early evening.

An odd look came over Loki's face as if he was thinking about something that left him perplexed.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked him.

"Umm.... 'turn and cough?'" he asked, shaking his head, "what a bizarre term for it."

"I know right?" I said, with a small amused smile. "But essentially that's what it's called. I guess it's more subtle to say than 'hang on - hernia check!'" I put my hand on his leg, "I'm just glad Dr. Lowenstein decided you didn't need to have that test." A wicked smile soon came to my lips, "Now picture Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and other human male Avengers having to be subject to that for their physicals..."

Loki laughed, and with a glint in his eye said, "Beverlee, I don't think that's healthy to think about..."