An Early Retirement (Patreon)

Dr Fred Smithson knew it was his lucky day when this muscular specimen rolled into the hospital to have his torn pectoral muscle repaired by the renowned surgeon. He had been looking forward to his retirement for a while but simply hadn’t encountered a body that he liked enough to retire into, not until British fitness model Ryan Terry arrived into his care. From their first meeting the doctor knew that he had found the one and he took extra time to question his patient during their initial meeting to identify key information he would need to make the transition into retired life that much smoother.

“So doc, you ready for one last surgery?” asked Dr Graham, Fred’s protege of many years. He had been in on Fred’s retirement plan from day one and had even agreed to do the surgery that would switch Fred’s mind into Ryan’s body and vice versa. Graham had been a good friend over the years and Fred was confident that he could find a way to repay his former pupil once the operation had been performed and he was properly out of the profession.

Fred took one last look at his reflection in the pane of glass separating him from the operating theater. It was strange to think that this would be his very last time in scrubs, performing the sort of procedures that had given him a name and lined his bank account for the past several decades, but he felt rather at peace with his decision to retire. “Oh I do believe so,” he confirmed, pulling up his mask over the white-flecked stubble that decorated the lower half of his face. At sixty-six he was well aware of the fact that technology was moving so quickly that soon his ways would be entirely outdated and this felt like the perfect time to move into the next phase of his life.

The surgery to repair Ryan’s pectoral muscle was of course a success. Fred could have performed it in his sleep, he’d done it so many times over his career. From there Ryan was wheeled straight out and into the next operating room, while Graham prepared Fred for his own operation, resting his hand on the older man’s shoulder as he was put under by sedative. From there Fred was left to dream, his whole career flashing through his mind, as Dr Graham performed his groundbreaking work on his two patients.

As he awoke several hours later, Fred was acutely aware of a pain in the upper left region of his torso, right where he had performed the surgery on Ryan. Even before opening his eyes he knew that Dr Graham had performed admirably - he had officially retired into the perfect body! Opening his eyes, Fred was met by the smiling face of his dear friend. “The surgery was a complete success, Dr Smithson,” his former pupil confirmed. “Welcome to your retirement.”

In just a few days the new Ryan Terry would be allowed to leave the hospital and enjoy his life as a fitness model and personal trainer, opportunities that presented themselves as new adventures to the retired surgeon. He wasn’t quite sure if he’d perform to Ryan’s usual standards but thankfully he had all of the man’s social media accounts and YouTube videos to study while he was still stuck in a hospital bed so he’d be able to emulate the younger man perfectly when given the opportunity.

Unfortunately the other patient involved in Dr Graham’s surgery didn’t quite end up with such a positive outlook on life. When he began raving about the fact that his body had been stolen and he was really one of the patients, many believed that old Dr Smithson had simply cracked as a result of stress. He was forced into retiring and sent to a care home where he was delivered daily doses of medication that kept his supposed delusions at bay. Every now and then the old man would still get worked up, particularly when his former patient Ryan came to visit him, but the nurses were used to his temper tantrums and were quick to sedate him.

Nobody ever found out about the procedure that Dr Graham had performed but he saw fit to take on a student of his own so that one day when he came to retire he’d have somebody to make sure his retirement was just as pleasant as his own teacher’s had been!