"My Lord, if I may ask some...personal questions?" The Doctor asked carefully, now that most of the awkwardness had been cleared up. Cass coughed, nodding.
"You may." Cass confirmed. Cass watched as they glanced around, as if concerned at the amount of people in the room. Cass laughed. "These are my trusted people, Doctor. If they betray me, I probably deserved it." Cass said with a smile. Sam did not like the implication, but Cass didn’t mind. He just smiled as the Doctor nodded.
"Alright, just please be lenient. These might offend you, but I must ask them so that I may have a better understanding of the situation." Cass had a feeling he knew where this was going, and with a flushed nod, he consented.
~
He then spent two of the most awkward hours answering question after question from the Doctor. The Doctor was right to warn Cass from the gate that they were going to ask invasive questions.
They started light, of course. Asking about sleeping habits, eating habits. Things that a normal check up might entail. Cass wasn’t sure since he’d never had a Doctor before, family or otherwise, so he wasn’t certain.
Edgar and Gideon were the people he was going off of, and they seemed to be okay with their line of questioning. Then, they began asking about weight, height, anything abnormal. Changes of the body, timing, magic fluctuation. Things that were also important to ask, that they had seen had happened between when they had seen Cass last and now, but now they wanted proof.
Sam was the best for those. He had a detailed list of all of Cass’ changes. For his personal records, and also because each tiny change for Cass could have been life or death only a few months ago.
Cass was once more appreciative for Sam’s consideration.
When they eventually got to the topic of sexual things, Cass was wholly unprepared and also knew that things would turn there eventually. Having to admit out loud that by their standards Cass had been a virgin until the night before was embarrassing. Having to admit what happened in brisk, but thorough terms made Cass’ face burn. Having Sir Forsythe here, listening to everything also made this moment worse for Cass, but who else was going to be here when he recounted this?
It wasn’t as if the older man was blind, and Cass didn’t want to lie, even if some things should be kept secret. Also listening to the changes that the others had observed as they spent time with Cass through his heats and even last night was enough to make Cass want to bury himself into the gardens outside, head first.
By the time the humiliation ritual was done, the Doctor’s face was scrunched up in thought. It had gone through quite a few emotions, but the thoughtfulness had never faded. They were listening with big ears, like every little thing was important.
The first thing that the Doctor said after such a long pause surprised Cass. It wasn’t about Cass’ health, or what Cass had gone through. Instead, it was a bit of a throwback, and a reminder of something that Cass was deeply embarrassed about.
"My one confusion, my Lord, is that if you had three husbands, why did you hurt your hands and wrists?" Cass felt their face flush a bright red while Lucian let out a bark of laughter. Gideon and Edgar, who hadn’t been privy to what Cass had gotten up to when he’d first arrived, snapped their heads towards him.
Cass trembled.
"I-I didn’t have anyone back then." Cass muttered, burning so hot he felt he was the sun. "I was alone back then." Cass mumbled.
"Oh. Were you fighting?" They asked and Cass shook harder. Lucian leaned in towards Cass, wrapping an around his shoulder and giving him a squeeze.
"Doc, he’s being sincere. We weren’t as close as we were back then." Lucian joked and the Doctor stared at them.
"Then aren’t you worried that your feelings aren’t sincere given the abilities that the Lord showcases?" The Doctor asked. Cass paused, the others paused, and Sam let out a low breath.
"That is-" Sam cut off when he glanced at Cass and caught the distress on his face. Cass hadn’t even considered that he could have possibly influenced them like that. That was a horrifying option to even consider. Cass felt like his whole world was shaking, ready to collapse at any second before Edgar’s hand came down on Cass’ shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
"That’s a ridiculous thing to even consider." Edgar muttered. "Sure, our relationship has developed quickly, but that’s because we’ve known each other for three years prior to everything happening. We were just blind and stupid, not entranced. That wouldn’t even work on two of us, and I don’t think Lucy would do something he didn’t want. Plus, he was the one who acted first." Edgar gave a snort. "By the way, I’m in a demonic contract of my own, through the gods no less, so I’m not easily swayed by other demons." Edgar disclosed willingly and the Doctor blinked, but only nodded in response.
"Understood. My apologies, I just wanted to see if you’d noticed anything strange about their development." They said. Cass shivered.
"I don’t think I developed...a scent or something like that. Did I?" Cass asked, turning towards the men. They would know, wouldn’t they? He was scanning their faces when Sir Forsythe answered.
"The Lord didn’t have an issue with anything like that until today, I think." He offered before coughing. "He did get rather handsome, but that’s nothing unusual. His Mother and Father were rather handsome themselves, he just grew into it." Sir Forsythe continued and Cass blinked. What was he saying?
The Doctor took Sir Forsythe’s news with interest and seemed to add that to a list in their mind. They were nodding to themselves.
"Lucy, Cass, what do you mean you injured yourself?" Edgar asked now that the Doctor seemed to be focused on compiling all of the information that they had gathered. Cass flushed.
"I, uh, well,"
"Cass hurt himself touching himself when he first awoke after he fell. The heat was overwhelming for him, and it was shortly after I found out about the heat and offered to help. You know the rest." Lucian explained. Gideon and Edgar nodded, sympathy in their eyes as they stared at Cass. Cass didn’t need to see Edgar’s face to know that was the case.
"Stop looking at me like that." Cass muttered, embarrassed.
"Why? You’re insatiable as it is, I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you to do that to yourself." Edgar told him, empathy dripping off of him. "How was the rest of his body?" Edgar asked, seriously asking that question. Lucian let out a growl.
"He was very swollen and bruised. He was in very bad condition. I think he would have broken his wrists if it would have satiated himself." Lucian told them and Cass bit his lip. He didn’t like having his dirty laundry aired like this.
"It wasn’t-"
"Don’t you dare try to minimize it, my Lord." Sam said sternly, surprising Cass. He raised his eyes towards his aide, noticing that Sam’s eyes were watering. "It was terrible. It always was terrible before they began to help you. At least now I know they can catch you if you fall. You have no idea what it did to me to know I couldn’t help you in any capacity and that you could be hurting yourself all on your own in your rooms." Sam sniffed. Cass felt his chest tighten.
Sam had been with him through several of the heats that Cassian had gone through alone before Cass had taken over. He had known how serious they were for him, but he had respected Cassian’s wishes for no contact.
"It’s fine now, Sam." Lucian told him, drawing everyone’s attention towards him. Lucian’s hand reached for Cass’ chin, his thumb rubbing the small bit of flesh there. "He won’t have to suffer like that again. Not alone, at least. We’ll be there to help him. At least one of us, in any case." Lucian’s smile reached his eyes as Cass was forced to stare into his face.
"At any rate," the Doctor interrupted, as if they hadn’t heard a thing that was being said, "I think the current solution to our problem is hunger." Cass and the others turned to stare them blankly.
"But we fed him well." Edgar argued and the Doctor nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes, well, you fed one side of him well." They reminded them. "This isn’t a criticism, I think this is just something everyone overlooked. The Lord’s body is already in a delicate balance, if what has been explained to me is true. Overfeeding one side while neglecting others might be what led him to get so emotional this morning. He was hungry, but unable to perceive because he was full with his...other stomach." The Doctor said carefully. Cass listened, eyes wide.
"That...surprisingly makes a lot of sense." Cass muttered. The Doctor chuckled.
"Nature doesn’t tend to go against logic often, my Lord." The Doctor said. Cass wanted to beg to differ, but kept his mouth shut.
"So we need to keep an eye on that?" Lucian asked. The Doctor nodded.
"And overfeeding. This falling unconscious, I think that’s what it was. When anyone has eaten too much they tend to get tired. Take that into consideration and don’t push him over. His body can only eat so much." The Doctor glared at the three men. "Take into consideration that he is trying to get healthy. Pushing him too far right now isn’t going to help him. The fact that he’s grown this much in such a short time is a good sign, but leave it at that." He also looked towards Cass. "As for you, my Lord, you need to learn the signs of what it means to be full." Cass was at a loss.
"What?" Cass asked and they sighed.
"While I understand that this is your first official feeding, you will have to learn from this point onwards. If they can’t recognise when you’re full, you need to be the one to take your health into your own hands." The Doctor then gave Cass a rather sympathetic look. "As for the changes that are happening to your body...I don’t think you’ll have any control until after they stop." A cold sweat went down Cass’ spine.
"What do you mean by that?" Cass asked cautiously. The Doctor sighed again.
"Exactly what I said. The symptoms are just that, only the beginning. From my professional opinion, you have quite a ways to go before you’re finally healthy as both a fairy, human, and a demon." That was not comforting to Cass.
"So I can’t do anything about...this?" Cass asked, gesturing to his whole body. The Doctor frowned.
"Not without magic, no. I can source some disguises for you, but they will be expensive." From Cass’ look the Doctor laughed. "Of course, not for our dear Lord, but they aren’t cheap for the average person. But no, my Lord, it looks like you’ll have to be fed properly a few more times before you may be able to control what is going on." That was not what Cass wanted to hear.