#travel nurse jobs ct

[silver-rings-and-rabbits]

Open Heart 2 - Chapter 3

What's Done is Done

Matthew blinked at Ethan, dumbfounded. Edenbrook losing this year’s funding…possibly never getting it back. All the medical staff had their jobs at risk…but as Matthew’s gaze travelled to the ground below, the situation suddenly became much, much bigger.

“How long do we have with the current budget?”

“I’d wager the rest of this year, but it could be less,” Ethan said. Matthew ran a hand through his hair as Ethan continued. “But if you’re worried about your job, don’t be. You’re an outstanding resident. You’ll land on your feet.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about,” Matthew said, darkly. Ethan followed his gaze down to where patients hobbled in and out the entrance, assisted by their families. A security guard was helping an elderly lady into a cab. It was the sort of thing Bobby Gunderson would do, though Matthew was too far to see if it was him.

“You’re right,” Ethan sighed. “We’re not the ones who’ll suffer the most, they will. Especially since the budget cuts are state wide; plenty of hospitals will be going down with us.”

It was a bleak outlook. A handful of hospitals open meant sick and injured people would have to travel for miles to wait in an already overcrowded, underfunded hospital full of overworked staff. And all the while, old, rich suits would sit upon a huge pile of money.

“What do we do?” Matthew asked Ethan.

“The only thing we can do is to help people for as long as we can.”

“That’s it?!” Ethan had broken almost every rule in the hospital last year to help Naveen, but he wasn’t going to fight a similar fight for the rest of their patients? “No way. There must be something we can do. We can find more funding, or cut costs somewhere—”

“Matthew.” Ethan remained calm. “We already have the entire administration team working on this. Medical staff have to focus on their patients. It wouldn’t do them any good to be distracted by worrying over this. We have to keep this quiet for now.”

“You cannot be serious,” Matthew groaned.

“It’s beyond our control. If we told anyone now, it would spread like wildfire and would be detrimental to everyone.”

“You’re asking me to keep this from my friends,” Matthew said, flatly. He wondered how many more secrets he’d be finding himself keeping for Dr Ramsey over the course of his career.

“I’m asking you to control what you can control, and right now, that’s information. Your friends will find out in due course. Now we need to be focused on what matters.”

The next couple of weeks passed without incident, until one day Matthew was paged to the diagnostics office where Baz was introducing them to Lamar Stevenson’s brain. The CT scan of the brain looked perfectly normal, but Lamar had been experiencing severe headaches, pins and needles, and a recent loss of peripheral vision. He had been referred to Edenbrook when his regular doctor couldn’t figure it out. The only clue they had was that the markers suggested meningitis, but there was still no explanation as to the cause.

After some brainstorming, Matthew was sent to test for glaucoma. No announcement had been made regarding the impending budget crisis, and as doctors and nurses continued their routine, Matthew wasn’t sure he would be able to keep silent for much longer.

The eye-pressure test on Lamar ruled out glaucoma. This didn’t phase Lamar, although his wife, Liz, was still worried.

“Doctor, I do trust your team…but the more you test, the more it will cost, and—”

“You can relax, Mrs Stevenson. The diagnostics team charges on a sliding scale based on a patient’s financial situation.”

Liz nodded, relaxing a bit. Turning to the patient’s history, Matthew learned that the Stevensons had lived in Boston for over thirty years, rarely leaving the city. What caught Matthew’s interest was Lamar’s stint in the Green Corps. Liz spoke of it proudly…but Lamar dismissed it as a lifetime ago.

“Ah hell!” Lamar cried, as he reached over for a glass of water and knocked it over Liz by mistake. “Sorry darling. Butterfingers.”

Liz shrugged it off, saying she knew his peripheral vision was getting worse. The problem was, the glass wasn’t in Lamar’s peripheral vision: he had been staring right at it.

“Lamar, look away for a second,” Matthew said. “Do you feel my pen?”

“Yes, on my forearm.”

Matthew nodded, his face smooth, but Lamar hadn’t noticed the second pen Matthew held against his elbow.

****

Later, Matthew was walking by the nurses station when he heard Zaid chewing someone out. To his dismay, Esme was the culprit.

“OK, watch me closely, because this is a very complicated procedure,” Zaid was lecturing. “First, you open the chart. Then you flip the page. Then you flip the page again.”

“I get it, Dr Mirani.”

“Hey! What’s going on?” Matthew asked, joining them. Zaid glared at him and explained Esme had ordered nitrofurantoin for a UTI patient with a history of jaundice. It would have destroyed the patients liver, had the nurses not intervened.

“I said I’m sorry.”

“Oh right, I forgot that ‘sorry’ synthesises amino acids—”

“What you did forget, Zaid, is that I’m not an intern anymore,” Matthew said, suddenly. “I’ve learned a thing or two and I know that berating her won’t help.”

Zaid gave Matthew a long, hard look, then said “fine” and walked away without looking back.

Esme blew out a breath.

“That guy needs an x-ray so we can figure out what’s lodged up his ass.”

Matthew sighed wearily as he turned to Esme apologetically.

“I should have been there for you. I’m sorry,” he said. There was a pit of guilt in his stomach. He should be supporting Esme, not abandoning her.

“What?” Esme blinked. “No, it was me. I’m the one who screwed up.”

Matthew couldn’t quite argue with that. Esme made a mistake, which was only natural, but sometimes one mistake was all it took. On the other hand, his job was to teach her, and he hadn’t balanced his duties properly. If he wasn’t there as Esme’s first point of call…but before he could say anything else, a familiar gloating voice made his skin crawl. Declan Nash, one of the high-ups of Panacea Labs, was walking round the corner. Dr Youen was at his heels.

“Technically, pharma companies shouldn’t be giving out freebies but it’s fine if it’s ‘educational’. And what could be more educational than brand new stethoscopes? Just make sure you prescribe Panacea medication every so often.” He winked at Sothy – who eagerly agreed – and then gave Matthew a smarmy grin. “If any of you are interested in speaking engagements or consulting arrangements, Panacea Labs is more than happy to pay your fees.”

Nash strutted away, Matthew pushed his hair back as he realised Nash would be sniffing around Edenbrook much more often, thanks to the deal Ethan had signed in an attempt to save Banerji last year. Apparently, Nash intended to be as insufferable as possible.

“He looks like someone to avoid,” Esme noted, and Matthew nodded.

“Whatever free stuff he tries to offer you, reject it. The less you’ll have to do with him, the better.”

****

After his shift that night, he met Jackie in the atrium and they walked to Donahue’s together. Matthew told Jackie about what he had seen with Declan Nash – she was less than thrilled – and then they arrived in Donahue’s to be greeted by Gary Garrison. Matthew left Jackie to convince Gary that they were strangers outside of work, although it was quite nice to see Elijah and Sothy practicing some kind of secret handshake.

Matthew slipped into a booth beside Sienna, who gave him a warm smile.

“How’s it going with your intern?” he asked her. “Mitch, right?”

“Yeah,” Sienna nodded. “Things are going great! Really great! He…has potential!”

Matthew wasn’t sure that was one hundred percent true; Sienna’s smile was little too wide to be natural. Jackie had just sat down on Sienna’s other side in time to hear that last part and she didn’t seem to believe her either.

“How’s Esme?” Sienna asked, ignoring their faces.

“She’s smart. Not perfect, obviously, but she’s promising. I think she’s gonna help a lot of people. How’s your intern, Aurora?”

Aurora had just slumped down wearily beside him.

“Don’t ask,” she groaned. “Medically, she’s fine. But she continuously talks about my aunt, even after three weeks. I came this close to telling her to reapply to be a surgeon. And you know what else? Dr Rosario picked me to assist with a presentation—”

“That’s fantastic!”

“—And it turned out he had only picked me to get into my aunt’s good graces.”

Aurora gulped her drink as Sienna’s face fell.

“You ever feel like you’re stuck with the consequences of something you have no control over?” Aurora sighed.

“Yeah, kinda…” Matthew muttered.

“No.” Sienna slammed her hand on the table and spoke so firmly it made the other three jump. “That attitude doesn’t get you anywhere. You always have a say in what you do with this moment…and I think you should choose to have a drink with your roommates.”

Aurora finally broke into a laugh as she clinked glasses with Sienna.

****

She woke up early the next morning to go out for breakfast with Matthew. A diner had recently opened up a few blocks away. It had classic retro vibes, with road signs decorating the walls, leather seats, and a line of cushioned bar stools. Even milkshakes were served in 50s looking glasses. The menu offered a variety of cooked foods, fruit platters, waffles, pancakes, pastries, and Matthew was scanning it when they heard a cry and a muffled thump. A man had just collapsed out of his seat, clutching his chest.

“I think he’s having a heart attack!” Matthew gasped, rushing to the man’s side.

Aurora told a nearby man to call 911 and warned other diners to stay back as she joined Matthew’s side. He was about to start chest compressions when she cried “Matthew, stop! His fingernails!”

The man’s fingernails had turned blue, as had his lips. It was a classic sign of a pulmonary embolism. Matthew pulled back in horror: chest suppressions would have dislodged the blood clot and likely killed the patient.

There wasn’t really anything they could do, but fortunately the ambulance arrived very quickly: there was something to be said for being within walking distance of the hospital. Rafael was amongst the paramedics lifting the patient on to the stretcher, and Matthew carefully kept his eyes on the patient, running through warning signs in his head, as Aurora quickly explained the situation to Rafael’s team. Matthew looked up in time to catch Rafael’s eye as he congratulated Aurora on the save, and wheeled the man into an ambulance. Matthew wandered outside the diner, watching the ambulance drive away.

As Aurora came outside to join him, he turned to her, feeling slightly shaky.

“That was a close one,” he said. “If you hadn’t stopped me…”

“Hey. None of that,” Aurora said, firmly. “You’d have figured it out the second you saw his lips. I just noticed his hand first.”

“Yeah,” Matthew muttered, but he thought back to his first year and how far he’d come. The governor’s compliments when he had diagnosed Jaime, and, most of all, Ethan once telling him that if he didn’t belong on the team, he would have overridden Naveen’s decision immediately.

“Yeah,” he said again, with confidence. Aurora smiled.

“Doctors, wait! You forgot your breakfast!”

The man who had called the ambulance was hurrying towards them, clutching a large bag of take-out. Matthew took it with thanks and peered inside. The smells of cooked sausages, bacon and scrambled eggs wafted up to him, as well as a separate bag of pastries, but Matthew wasn’t nearly as hungry as he had been half an hour ago.

“You were really something back there,” the man was saying to Aurora. He was quite handsome, with olive skin, hazel eyes and a shaved head.

“She’s one of the best doctors at Edenbrook,” Matthew said. Aurora looked over at him, touched.

“I don’t doubt it,” the man grinned. “It takes a very cool head under pressure to catch a detail like cyanosis. Yes, I’m a doctor too, at Mass Kenmore,” he added at their surprised expressions. “Speaking of which…our trauma department could always use more cool, motivated doctors…”

He took a business card from his pocket and handed it to Aurora: Dr Tobias Carrick.

“Let me know if you ever feel like a change of pace.”

He grinned at the two of them once more, then went back to the diner leaving them staring after him, mouths agape.

“You’re not thinking of leaving, are you?” Matthew asked Aurora, quietly. She would do great things no matter where she was…but he wanted things to stay as they were for now.

“I…I wasn’t…” Aurora stammered, looking at the card. “But…he offered me a job without even knowing my name.”

Nonetheless, Aurora needed time to think this through, and Matthew kept his thoughts to himself as they walked back to the apartment. He obliged when Aurora told him not to say anything to the others, though he couldn’t help feeling slightly worried as they readied for the day shift at Edenbrook.

He was jolted back into his senses when he and Ethan walked into Lamar’s patient room and found it completely empty.

“Where the hell is my patient?” Ethan growled, but the nearby staff didn’t know. Matthew started walking down the corridor; in his current condition, Lamar was dangerous.

And you couldn’t get more dangerous than trying to climb over the balcony above the atrium, a fall that would most certainly have killed him and any unsuspecting people who happened to be walking underneath. As Lamar perched on the railings, seconds away from standing and plummeting, Liz watched with helpless tears in her eyes.

“Lamar, stop!” Ethan commanded. Lamar paused, looking over eagerly.

“Alex, Tommy, come jump with me!”

He was speaking directly to Ethan and Matthew, who exchanged confused glances.

“Where do you think we are right now, Lamar?” Ethan asked, cautiously.

“On the same rock we’ve been jumping off all summer. You hit your head or something, Tommy?” Lamar rolled his eyes and gave Liz a coy smile. “You don’t need to be so scared, Fiona. I’ll hold your hand.”

“Oh god, doctors, I swear he’s never been like this before,” Liz choked. Her tears spilled over and she pressed her hand to her mouth.

“Who are Alex, Tommy and Fiona?” Ethan murmured to her, but she didn’t know.

Meanwhile, Matthew was trying to figure out how to approach Lamar without freaking him out or encouraging him to jump. He offered Lamar a cool smile and took a step forward.

“Actually,” he said airily, though his heart was beating hard. “I’ve found a much cooler place to jump.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Matthew noticed Ethan slowly walking around to Lamar’s other side.

“Really? Where?” Lamar asked. Matthew indicated the general area behind him.

“It’s back this way. Come down and I’ll show you.”

Lamar hesitated for a second, then nodded and hopped down to the ground. Liz gasped in relief as Lamar walked over to Matthew, only for Ethan to pin him to the ground from behind.

“What the hell, Tommy?!”

“This isn’t him,” Liz sobbed. “Please, doctors, this isn’t my Lamar.”

Ethan called for a hospital gurney as well as sleeping medication for Lamar. Matthew frowned as he stared at the spot Lamar had been about to jump off. And then an idea slowly started to form.

To confirm his hunch required a sample of cerebrospinal fluid. The lab technician read off the results of the sample and gave them a single, solemn nod.

Matthew’s heart felt heavy as he approached Liz, who watched him with red, teary eyes. She searched Matthew’s face for any sign of hope as he explained Lamar had been hallucinating his Green Corps days: three of his colleagues were named Alex, Tommy and Fiona.

“The VDRL test confirmed tertiary syphilis.”

“Wha…syphilis?!” Shock turned to anger as Liz vehemently shook her head. “No. No, that’s not true. Lamar would never cheat on me.”

“I don’t think he did,” Matthew said gently. “Syphilis can be latent for decades before the tertiary phase. It’s not even infectious anymore. I suspect he caught it before he met you. Most of his physical symptoms are a result of the bacteria infecting his central nervous system.”

Liz didn’t seem to really be hearing him. Matthew guided her into a chair where he sat beside her and gently held her hand.

“And…the hallucinations?” Liz asked, weakly.

“The disease has atrophied parts of his brain,” Matthew explained. “Several days of IV penicillin will halt any further progression but…Mrs Stevenson, I’m so sorry to say the damage that’s occurred already is irreversible.”

“You mean…” Liz’s voice was barely a croak. “He won’t remember me?”

“He will some days. Most days, even. But…he may very well have similar episodes again.”

It was as if he could actually see Liz’s world shattering before her eyes as her tears began again. He tried to picture how awful it must be for her, that Lamar’s hallucinations could come back at the worst possible time, in any kind of life-threatening situation. That Liz may wake up to a husband she thought was a stranger…and maybe in the back of her mind, she would constantly be wondering who Fiona was. And there was nothing Matthew could do except rub her back comfortingly until she was ready to see Lamar.

Matthew left them with a nurse and continued walking, his footsteps heavy. He paused when he noticed Ethan talking to an older man. The older man looked sad, Ethan looked expressionless, then the older man sighed and patted Ethan’s shoulder before leaving.

“Everything alright?” Matthew asked as he approached Ethan.

“That was my father, Alan,” Ethan said, in a monotone voice. “My mother wants to get in touch for the first time in twenty-five years.”

Matthew’s jaw dropped. A look of anger streaked across Ethan’s face for a second before he walked away. Matthew was too busy trying to comprehend everything to stop him.

“Matthew!”

“Huh?”

Elijah was rolling up to him, oblivious.

“Come check this out!”

Still in a daze, Matthew followed Elijah down the halls into a large room that had just been modelled into a doctors lounge, complete with two mini-fridges, a coffee machine, a microwave, and a foosball table.

His friends were already marvelling over the amenities. Jackie joked about how expensive it looked and Matthew’s stomach squeezed. He couldn’t help wondering if not building the lounge would have helped the hospital, not to mention how much longer they had left to enjoy it. Still no word had been said about the impending crisis. His friends still thought they would finish their residencies with no problem.

“Anyone up for foosball?” Bryce asked loudly. Matthew swallowed hard and forced a smile.

“Sure. Let’s play.”

It wasn’t his secret to tell.

Tags: @sazanes @rafasgirl23415 @ceruleansnake0

[jewishbjork]

animal pains had his head in a ct scanner for he had gone taste blind. all he could taste was the kind of acid you make when you vomit from a violation of territories and regions.

he said i can taste something different. i can feel the taste of a far off summer trout through the light i see with my eyes closed in this womb.

i asked him if he had tried scraping his tongue. he told me he was scared of putting his hands near his mouth because he was afraid of what he might find. he told me he was scared of putting his hands near his mouth and because he was scared to remember.

i asked him what he was scared to remember and he said i just want to remember the taste of the summer trout. i didn’t ask him to elaborate further but he did after a pause. these words were exchanged between us over the hum of the scan.

he said i am scared to remember the feeling of a hand near my face.

intrusion. predation. interlude. pleasure.

i asked him what kind of hand he was afraid of and he said the kind of hands that his own hands reminded him of because they also reminded him of him.

intrusion. predation. interlude. pleasure.

shame.

how the mechanism of the finger can scrape the throat ever so roughly when one is trying to find purchase to gain entrance to the gullet which is not an entrance that was not up for purchase.

i asked animal pains how much radiation he thought was good for his head. he asked me how much radiation it would take to make his eyes glow with the certainty of something that could taste things other than vomit from a violation of territories and regions.

i asked him how much radiation was in a hundred thousand cigarettes. not enough to make his eyes glow. 

you can’t have your head in that ct scanner forever i said. 

intrusion. interlude. 

how much summer trout would i have to swallow to have an aftertaste he asked me. i asked him to clarify if he meant experiencing an aftertaste after consuming something or if he meant one would experience the aftertaste of summer trout upon consuming him. animal pains laughed and asked me in how many directions i would like to travel at once. i asked him if he trusted his doctors. he said horses in lab coats could do a better job.

we exited the hospital after paying off the nurse who let us use the ct scanner. soaking in the damp summer air of a moonless night we stood by the ambulance entrance and smoked cigarettes next to the no smoking sign and watched ambulance after ambulance pull up. there had been an explosion at a nearby clinic. some static had lit up an oxygen enriched environment. they carted in many injured horses, who were the doctors who ran that clinic. they had the remains of lab coats on them.

neither of us commented upon this.

we took each other in a dark leafy corner of the hospital parking lot. me, taking all of him. him, taking my hand and intently putting my thumb in his mouth and sucking on it like a cock.

predation. pleasure.

i told him he tasted like fresh summer trout and he told me i probably tasted like a magnet attached to a cork floating in some watermelon water in a paper cup trying to point towards true north if he was not taste blind. i asked him what he meant and he asked me how many directions i was trying to travel at once and laughed softly after the moment of silence created by the fact that i had nothing to reply with. maybe it made me angry. i fucked him harder. 

afterwards we laid in the grass. i popped a chiclet into my mouth and chewed. he asked me if i was aware that the gum in an mre had caffeine in it. i nodded and said i was. we sat there smoking cigarettes long enough until the sky started to brighten. he spoke to no one in particular when he announced out loud i have smoked my last cigarette. this seemed to be the cue to both of us to rise and dress.

to get to our prospective homes we had to take different busses that departed from the same stop. we stood there and enjoyed each others company for a bit longer. spitting words and water back and forth between our mouths. his bus turned down our street and pushed towards us. animal pains looked to me and smiled. we kissed. his lips were chapped and cold and felt good. he stepped on his bus and before the doors closed turned to me and said that he hoped i would not get lost. i would have asked him what he meant but he continued on, the doors closed, and the bus pulled away.

i looked up at an honest, chilled, grey morning sky. wind threatening to turn to a bluster by stinging my sharp and crystalline boogers in the corners of my eyes. a drop of rain hit one of them. i wiped it and everything else away from my sight while feeling the weight of body tired in the lines by my eyes and sinking into my cheeks. i gave him quite a bit of my water. 

upon arriving i closed the door behind me and went to my living room. kneeling by the san joaquin and drinking deep of the scummy waters, the hopping little bugs that lived on the surface of the water and just below popped at my face. 

i kept my eyes closed.

[kingstoninstitute]

Specializations in Paramedical Courses: Which One Fits You Best?

Paramedical courses offer a diverse range of specializations, each catering to different interests and career paths. Choosing the right specialization is crucial for a fulfilling and successful career in the healthcare sector. In this article, we'll explore various paramedical specializations, career opportunities associated with each, and how to select the one that aligns best with your goals and interests.

Understanding Paramedical Specializations

Paramedical courses encompass a wide array of disciplines that support medical professionals in their roles. These courses provide hands-on training and theoretical knowledge necessary for assisting doctors and other healthcare professionals in diagnosis, treatment, and patient care.

Popular Paramedical Specializations

Nursing: Nursing is one of the most sought-after paramedical specializations. Nurses play a crucial role in patient care, administering medication, monitoring vital signs, and providing emotional support to patients and their families.

Physiotherapy: Physiotherapists help patients recover from injuries, surgeries, or disabilities by designing and implementing customized exercise and rehabilitation programs. They play a key role in improving patients' mobility and quality of life.

Medical Laboratory Technology: Medical laboratory technologists perform various tests on patient samples to assist in disease diagnosis and treatment. They work with sophisticated equipment and analyze results to provide accurate information to doctors.

Radiology: Radiologic technologists operate imaging equipment such as X-ray machines, CT scanners, and MRI machines to create images of the internal structures of the body. These images help doctors diagnose and treat medical conditions.

Career Opportunities in Each Specialization

Nursing: Nurses can work in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, schools, or even as travel nurses. With experience, they can advance to roles such as nurse managers, nurse practitioners, or nurse educators.

Physiotherapy: Physiotherapists can work in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, sports clinics, or start their own private practice. They may specialize in areas such as sports therapy, pediatric physiotherapy, or neurology.

Medical Laboratory Technology: Medical laboratory technologists are employed in hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, research facilities, or pharmaceutical companies. They can specialize in fields like microbiology, hematology, or histotechnology.

Radiology: Radiologic technologists find employment in hospitals, imaging centers, outpatient clinics, or physician offices. They may specialize in specific imaging modalities such as MRI, CT, or mammography.

Choosing the Right Specialization for You

When selecting a paramedical specialization, consider your interests, strengths, and career goals. Research each specialization thoroughly to understand the job responsibilities, work environment, and growth opportunities associated with it. Additionally, seek advice from professionals in the field and consider factors such as job market demand and salary prospects.

Paramedical Colleges in Kolkata

Kolkata boasts several reputable colleges offering paramedical courses. These institutions provide high-quality education and practical training, preparing students for rewarding careers in healthcare. Some notable paramedical colleges in Kolkata include:

Kingston Educational Institute: Kingston Educational Institute offers a variety of paramedical courses, including nursing, physiotherapy, and medical laboratory technology. The institute is known for its modern facilities and experienced faculty, providing students with a conducive learning environment.

Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER): IPGMER offers various paramedical courses, including nursing, physiotherapy, and medical laboratory technology. The institute is renowned for its state-of-the-art facilities and experienced faculty.

West Bengal University of Health Sciences (WBUHS): WBUHS offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs in paramedical fields such as radiology and medical imaging technology. The university focuses on interdisciplinary learning and research-driven education.

George College: George College offers diploma and degree courses in paramedical disciplines like nursing and medical laboratory technology. The college emphasizes practical training and industry exposure to enhance students' employability.

Conclusion

Choosing the right specialization in paramedical courses is essential for a successful and fulfilling career in healthcare. Consider your interests, strengths, and career aspirations when exploring the various options available. Additionally, research paramedical colleges in Kolkata or your preferred location to find reputable institutions offering quality education and training in your chosen field. With the right specialization and education, you can embark on a rewarding journey to make a positive impact on patients' lives and contribute to the healthcare industry.

[winterspiderpurrs]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Oh how this is saving me right now @professional-benaddict

🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶

Stephen was getting his playlist ready for surgery when the doors opened.

" This is a closed surgery if you want to view it go to the viewing deck. Get out"

"Why is Patient named Erin Walter's about to be discharged?"

Stephen paused and then turned around to look at the nurse. He could only see the person's eyes as they were covered up by a mask and an haircap that looked too big.

" He had the work up, nothing for me to do. Now leave before I have you disbarred."

The man put a hand on his hip.

" I get it I'm just a nurse but that man needs an MRI. I don't care if just a CT was done we need to rule out possible stroke Dr. Strange"

Now Stephen was starting to get irritated. Why was this person questioning him?

" He had his work up. Nothing was found. Now start wasting my time"

" He did not have an MRI. That's standard procedure, Dr. Strange and I don't care if you have a blade up your ass but if that man has a stroke I will put on the paper work that I talked to the nurse YOU assigned him and I talked to YOU about procedure not being done. "

Stephen stared down at the nurse. He was not going to have himself be questioned like this. But he has to make sure he has all the facts before he could rip into this nurse this traveling nurse by the way his badge looks.

" Get me Palmer on the phone"

Five minutes later Christine called Stephen and confirmed that the nurse assigned to Mr. Walters did not infact put him down for an MRI, just that his CT was negative. Which is what Stephen told the nurse before he left the room earlier.

Stephen cursed, later when he was in the ICU because once Mr. Walter had his MRI, they found a brain bleed. He was pissed that the nurse was right and the person he left in charge of HIS patient wasn't doing their job.

He asks Christine if she knew the travel nurse who disrupted his surgery.

" Oh! Thats Peter! He has been a travel nurse for a couple of years now, we contract him out a lot. I'm surprised you haven't met him"

And thats how Stephen finally gets to met one Peter Parker. He didn't know what he was expecting but this wasn't it.

Peter was about to head out of the door, changed out of his scrubs and into his street clothes. He was opening a bag of chips as he headed out of the hospital.

" Mr. Parker "

Peter stopped his walking and turned around.

" Oh! Hi umm Dr. Strange" Peter smiled nervously. With out his scrubs on and minus the rush earlier he wasn't feeling as confident. While Peter knew he had made the right call in storming into Stephen's surgery, he knew he could get in trouble for it.

" Good call. But don't interrupt my surgery ever again."

Peter blushes and nods. " Yes Sir."

Stephen smirked before nodding his head.

" Let's have lunch tomorrow"

-

Later that night Stephen was laying in bed with Tony, they were both on their tablets catching up on new of the day.

" I had nurse correct me today. And the shit head was right"

Tony laughed and turned to look at Stephen.

" Oh boy. And how did that go? You make them cry?"

Stephen laughed this time.

" No. I invited him to lunch. Guess I got a thing for when someone has the balls to talk back to me. He just doesn't look the type, way to cute"

Tony raises his eyebrow. " Oh yeah? What's his name? Let me look into him for you, babe. "

" Peter Parker. Travel Nurse"

It doesn't take long for Tony to have a small report pulled up. He taps away on his tablet before whistling. Turning the tablet to face Stephen. Stephen stared at the photo that was pulled up.

" We got ourselves a pretty little thing."

Stephen smirked and tabbed the tablet.

" We need to make him ours"

The sound of loud beeping brought Stephen back out of his memories. Peter started moving a little on the medical bed where not even 2 months ago, Tony had been resting.

The only difference was that Tony's stomach wound was a through and through bullet. The one that hit Peter in the leg, chipped a bone, and had to be surgically dug out.

Peter groanes a little as he was coming to, not opening his eyes yet. Bucky radios down to Steve to let Tony know that Peter was starting to wake up.

Stephen checks the machines, before sitting down on the bed to loom over Peter. Reaching over to brush his hair to the side.

" Shhh its okay. I'm here"

Eyes still closed, Peter squints his face up before ever so slowly opening his eyes.

" Ste..Stephen? What... what happened?"

" You were hurt. Your home now though"

Peter frowns, his head was in a fog trying to remember. His face still ached, he remembered the hits, then gun sounds and then.

Peter gasped and sat up quickly. " Tony! They were shooting at him "

Stephen gently pushed Peter back down " Take it easy. He is fine. On his way to see you."

Peter sighs and was about to say something when the door opened.

" Look at you. How the tables have turned little dancer"

Tony had that smirk on his face but it softens into a smile when he goes to sit on the opposite side of the bed from Stephen.

" Your home now"

part 42 - AO3 link🖤

part 41 in the reblog @winterspiderpurrs 🖤🖤

tw: gun violence and injury

It really is Tony. He’s in one of his suits, as is usual for him now, a gun in his hand too. It has only been a few days, but Peter thinks he looks more handsome than ever.

The mafia boss raises his gun in a skilled motion, his arm in a perfect line and his feet spread to handle the kickback.

“What the-” The man who had been interrogating Peter did not finish his sentence, as Tony shot a bullet in his cheek.

The deadly effect is instant. Peter flinches at the loud noise, and his ears ring so loud that he cannot hear anything else for a while. The man’s head bobs back a little, and then he slumps together like the dead weight he is and onto the floor.

“You came!” Peter yelps, quickly followed by a sob. His own voice sounds weird in his head, but he does not care. Nor does he care about the body on the floor next to him.

“Of course, Bambino.” Tony says, crouching by Peter and helping him get up and out of the chair and ropes. Peter can hear him a bit better now, but his own crying is still loud with the way it bounces off of the bare walls.

“Come on, you’re okay. Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Tony rambles.

When Peter moves his arms to his front, he realises how bruised and hurt they are from falling backwards. But, nothing feels broken, luckily. His cheekbone might be though, with how much it is throbbing and hurting.

“God, what did they do to you?” Tony breathes out, trying to cup Peter’s cheeks in a way that does not hurt his face.

Peter winces a little, but he smiles through his tears.

“T-To’y…”

“I’m here, I’m here. We’re getting out of here.” Tony assures.

“Don’t know how exactly we are gonna do that, but…” Bucky says. He is stood in the doorway with a machine gun resting on his thigh. Only now is Peter aware of his presence. “Steve and Strange and Clint are backing us, but we gotta get out of here. Now.”

“Can you walk?” Tony asks, helping Peter up from the floor. He takes nearly all the young man’s weight, but once on his feet, he stands.

“Yeah…” Peter nods, trying to steady his breathing to focus.

“All right. Come with us.” Tony takes Peter’s hand firmly, the other holding the gun still.

Bucky walks ahead of them, his machine gun raised and checking every turn. Tony covers their back while leading Peter.

The young nurse does not remember entering this place, and he is sort of glad he doesn’t. It looks dirty, worn down and hostile. There are leaky pipes in the ceiling, paint falling from the walls and there are strange smells everywhere.

Then, there’s the blood. The bodies lay amongst the bullets and bullet holes. In his panicked and disoriented mind, Peter wonders who will bury them. Or perhaps they won’t be.

Around one corner, Bucky raises his gun as usual, but this time, there is someone there. They yelp, but Bucky lowers his gun a little.

“Jeez, Barnes. Itchy trigger finger?”

It is Clint, not that Peter remembers. But, from behind the blond man, comes another.

“Stephen!” Peter yelps loudly, making Tony shush him.

“Peter! Oh my God!” Stephen gasps, falling forwards to embrace Peter. He only gets one brief second before Tony shoves them from behind.

“Come on, we gotta go. We’ll do all the kisses later.”

Peter clings to Stephen and the doctor wraps a strong arm around his torso, pulling him along. They hurry along even faster now. Clint is talking to Happy and Sam on the phone, telling them to pull up with the cars. They cannot waster any time and linger.

If only everything could slow down, if only he could be safe with everyone. If only this would end…

“Car’s 20 seconds. Come on!” Clint says. He cracks a metal door open, one that leads outside. It is almost as dark outside as inside.

They rush outside, Tony covering them from behind. Two black cars pulls up with a screech and violent stop. Bucky throws the door open to the first one, which Sam is driving. Steve is in the car too, but Stephen rushes to the other one with Happy.

In a split second, Peter looks around himself. It is a miracle how he notices in the dark night, but he sees someone running. And then another. He has a feeling they are not Tony’s men.

As if on instinct, Peter moves away from the car and to Tony who is the last one out of the building.

Peter hears the gunshot rather than sees it. He doesn’t know where it hits. It is almost as if it was swallowed up by the night air. Peter’s ears are ringing again. He cannot hear anything Tony is shouting at him.

There are more gunshots, but they sound muffled to Peter, like he is underwater. Still, Tony’s mouth is moving, but there is no sound. Stephen is here too, picking Peter up in a swift motion and putting him in the back of a car.

The car door slams shut and Happy hits the gas so that Stephen and Tony both slam into the seats. Peter feels nothing, except something warm on his leg.

“Peter! PETER!”

All the noise comes rushing back, and both Stephen and Tony are talking to him. Stephen presses his jacket to Peter’s thigh.

Only then does Peter realise the bullet wasn’t swallowed up in the night like he thought.

He’s been shot.

Is this how it ends?

[heartfucksmouth]

just casually losing my mind over all my medical trauma bullshit bc I found a lump in my groin on the same side as my shitty ovary and all my abdominal/ovary pain and had to battle with my doctors call center all day to get an appointment on September 7th, and then play phone tag with the nurses and sit in a 7-call queue with the call center again just to be told a nurse will call me back again and then I finally spoke to a nurse (who was kind) and she told me to definitely go to urgent care due to my symptoms and then keep the September appointment for follow up and now I'm gonna go in the morning because too fucking exhausted to function.

this is from the same doctors office who was sending me for a chest CT with contrast in late April but there was/is a shortage on contrast fluid so there was a delay. and then I never heard from the doctors office or radiology again. that's four months lmao. I JUST looked at my online chart and radiology had faxed something the beginning of May advising I get a VQScan in replacement of the CT and NOBODY DID ANYTHING ABOUT IT aty doctors office LMAO

so I sent the referrals department a message letting them know I noticed it and that they can basically point it out to my doctor bc someone fucked up and either way I find it wholly negligent.

like who knows, maybe something has been up with my lungs this whole time and it's traveled to my lymph nodes or some actual bullshit like that and they literally failed to intervene properly.

the amount of energy chronically ill people have to spend doing doctors and insurance peoples jobs for them is fucking absurd. I had to call my (3) insurance companies the other day trying to figure out which one of them needed to transfer me to the appropriate plan bc they auto-transferred me to a plan that doesn't even serve my fucking county.. and once I confirmed my address THEY should have noticed the error and just fucking fixed it. but no no, instead I just kept getting calls from a care coordinator I wasn't even allowed to use telling me to call and fix it. FUCK THIS BROKEN COUNTRY AND ALL ITS SYSTEMS AAAAHHHHHHHH

[scorsoneamelia]

HIIII!! i wrote something fun and cute about amelia bringing scout to work with her :))) 

           It was only two days, three nights without Link but according to Scout he has been gone foooorever. Scout says it’s been years since he’s seen his father, even though it has been two days and he even saw Link over Facetime the day before. He had to fly out of Seattle for a surgery because the patient wasn’t stable enough to travel to the orthopaedic surgeon, so Link had to go to them. Scout was upset, saying he hadn’t seen daddy in a very long time and that he missed him, so Amelia let Scout share the bed with her that night.

           She was woken up from the morning sunrise rays creeping through a space in the closed curtains, the little bit of sunlight managing to light up the bedroom. There was a soft breathing beside her and it was Scout, in the middle of the bed and curled into her side as if he didn’t have any room on the other side of the bed. The corner of the blanket was only covering his legs, the rest of his body uncovered and he was laying on his back. One of his arms was laid across his belly, and the other was laying flat above his head and his shirt was slightly bunched up, revealing his belly button.

             He looked so calm and peaceful, and his sandy brown hair was messy, pieces of it falling in front of his closed eyes. The day before, Scout refused to go to school because he didn’t want to, and his excuse would be because daddy wasn’t here, and that was all he would say when Amelia would ask why. It took her to promise him that he could join her at work for the day if it meant he would go to school, so today, as she promised, it was bring your kid to work day.

              “Angel,” Amelia whispered softly, sitting up from the bed and sitting up, her back against the head board. “Scout.” She said a bit louder this time, a free hand brushing through his hair.

               His long eyes lashes revealed his deep blue eyes, matching Amelia’s, (she likes to think he has her eye color, even though Link would disagree saying they both had blue eyes) and he was letting out a huff, before stretching his body out. “Good morning, angel.” She saw Link in him so much, and no matter how many people said they saw her in him as well, all she could see was a mini Link and it made her heart flutter everytime.

                “As I promised, you’ll be coming to work with me today,” she said, the corners of her lips curling into a soft smile. “But we have to get ready.”

                 There was excitement all of his face and it was like he forgot why he was so sad the previous night, because he was already jumping—-literally jumping out of bed. He squealed out a yay and was already running to his bedroom to try and find himself some clothes, even though Amelia knew she’d soon have to go and help him because the clothes he’d be pick would be awful.

                After the two of them finished getting ready for their day, they both stood facing the mirror and Scout was standing on a stool because otherwise he would have barely reached the sink. (His height is definitely from her.) Scout pulled out his own toothbrush and mirrored his mom, the two of them brushing their teeth and Scout was messy, but at least he was doing it. There was toothpaste all over his face and it was running down his hands and he wasn’t exactly clean when he was spitting it into the sink. He made sure to match his mom, brushing his teeth for the same amount of time as she did before they had to leave.

               She gave him the run down on the way to work, saying he had to be on his best behaviour because she was working and that sometimes her job can be busy. She’s never had an issue with Scout misbehaving but sometimes, his energy, especially when he’s excited, can be high and around patients she needed him to know that he had to be good.

               She didn’t have any surgeries scheduled today, she made sure that her day was light, a couple consults and follow-up on post-ops. Scout was going to be her lefthand, assisting her whenever she needed, or at least she was going to let him think he was helping her.

              He wore a white coat, Link’s to be specific, and he was drowning in it. It came down past his knees and the sleeves were longer than his own arms but Scout insisted he continued to wear it because it was his dad’s.

              He came with her on rounds, and she allowed him to carry around the tablet, it being too big for him to carry with one hand. They were stopped in between patients because nurses and other doctors would stop them, introducing themselves and because some would just squeal and talk about how cute he was.

              There was a consult in the pit that she got paged to, and she brought him along. He was no longer carrying the tablet, instead he put both hands in the front coat (very large) pockets because his mom had her hands in her coat pockets and he wanted to be like her.

             “What do we got?” Amelia asked, pulling the curtain open to reveal a patient on the table, a few scratches and bruises covering his body and Meredith was there, giving a consult as well.

             “MVC,” Meredith started, pulling her blue gloves off of her hands. “Has a head lac.” Turning around, she bent down to get eye level with Scout before he was giggling and throwing his arms around her neck.

             “Auntie Mer!” He was yelling now, excitement flooding his face. Amelia was examining the patient, using her flashlight to check his pupils.

             “It just looks like a mild concussion, but order a head CT to rule out any bleeding, just in case.” She told the nurse, her hand was put back into her pocket along with her small flashlight.

             “Dr. Shepherd-Lincoln,” Meredith nodded, a smile pulling at her face because the look of her nephew in an oversized white coat was too cute. Meredith could see Link in him, as well, but he had some of Amelia’s qualities.

             “He looks so much like Link,” Meredith commented before she stood up, facing Amelia. “He’s got your smile though.”

             Scout went to stand next to his mom, matching her posture, (trying to) with arms crossed over his chest, just like she was. Amelia looked down at him while Scout was looking between the two, happiness radiating from him. “He’s definitely going to be a heartbreaker.” Amelia joked, causing a chuckle to come from Meredith.

            “Mommy let me come to work with her today, instead of school!” He was cheering, his smile reaching his eyes.

             “Well, I think you’re going to have a lot of fun here!” Meredith replied, her smile was warm and her eyes met Amelia’s. They were both thinking the same thing; if only Derek were here to see this.

             After they shared their goodbyes, they were leaving the emergency room and making their way to the attendings lounge, because she needed a coffee. Upon entering, Scout was talking about her job as if he was a doctor, saying that he was the best worker in the whole building, better than her, too. In the attendings lounge they were met up with Bailey, Webber and Jo, who squealed and immediately stood from her seat.

             “Oh ..my ...god,” Jo said, pulling out her phone to take a picture. “He’s a mini Link!” Bailey and Webber adverted their eyes from each other, to look over at Scout who was smiling for the camera, the smile taking over his face and one arm of the jacket falling off of his shoulder.

              Pouring herself a coffee, she also grabbed one of the doughnuts that were provided and handed it to Scout, who looked like he had just won the lottery. “Someone is one lucky guy.” Bailey spoke up, walking over to the three of them. “I’m Miranda—Dr. Bailey.” She held her hand out as a casual greeting, as Scout’s small hand grabbed her and they were shaking hands.

               “I’m Scout!” He introduced himself, as if nobody in the building knew him. “Dr. Shepherd-Lincoln!!”

               “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Dr. Shepherd-Lincoln.” Bailey was laughing, Scout gently shaking her hand. He was making his way around the room, going up to each person to show them the flashlight he borrowed from Amelia, and showing off his jacket.

                She was watching him in awe, he was perfect. She never imagined her life with kids, but now she can’t imagine her life without him. It was crazy to her that it was possible for her— anyone, to love someone this much. Sometimes she could feel all of her love in her entire body, she just wanted to hug him so tightly and never let him go. He is her entire world.

               “Alright, well,” Amelia was heading towards the door. “We’ve got work to do.”

_____

                It was her lunch break, Link made sure to call at least twice today because he wanted to talk to Scout and he wanted to remind Amelia that he loved her. The two of them had rounded on her post-up patients, Scout putting a smile on all of her patients faces. For most of her patients, Scout would try and repeat whatever his mom was telling them although he failed because he couldn’t pronounce half of the words; nor did he understand. Amelia ended up finding a second flashlight and she let Scout hold onto it, shining it into peoples eyes at the same time she did it, pretending he knew what he was looking for. 

              At the table sat her and Scout, as well as Meredith and Maggie. Scout was telling Maggie about her day, and the sleeve of the jacket was getting into the ketchup and fries that was on his plate, and she’ll made a mental note to wash it before Link saw it. “Baby, let’s take Daddy’s jacket off before it gets dirty.” She was reaching over now, pulling the jacket off of both of his arms and placed it in her lap where it will be safe.

              Link called just before he had gone into surgery, mentioning that Jo had sent him the photos of Scout earlier and he made sure to tell Scout that the jacket looked better on him than it did on himself. So now, Scout was telling everyone that the jacket was no longer Link’s but that it was his. He told Maggie about how he looked into everyone’s eyes and how he helped her treat a patient (even though he didn’t), and he also told her that he was the best doctor in the whole entire world. 

             Before she had a chance to finish her lunch, her pager was going off and she was being paged to a surgery, her now light day not being so light. “I’m being paged to OR 3,” she was standing from her chair. “Okay, Scout, you’re going to have to stay with Aunt Maggie just for a bit because I’m needed somewhere and you can’t come with me.” She was glancing over at Maggie now. “That’s okay, right?

“Perfectly fine.” Maggie nodded and she was kissing Scout before she left, making her way to the OR. Scout continued talking about his day with Meredith and Maggie, completely forgetting about the french fries and hot dog that he begged Amelia for. 

[shelby-love]

JAY HALSTEAD

“Nightmare that came true”

Requested: yes

Prompts: none

Warnings: angst

Authors note: /

“Well. Her test results came back negative,” You swipe through the tablet before handing it over to doctor Charles. “She’s all yours.”

A girl came in the ED today, she was bleeding and screaming things about witches and ghosts. You stopped her bleeding and patched her up. Now she’s completely physically healthy and you’re handing her to the chief of Psychiatry.

“Let’s give her some Ativan. Get her to calm down,” Dr. Charles instructs one of the nurses. The nurse hurriedly goes to the screaming patient and injects the medication. Once the girl is calmed down you nod and wish luck to the older man.

It’s a fairly peaceful day at the ED. You had a few patients, all of which went home with a smile on their face. This girl so far was the only one in a need for serious help. You patched her up, now the only problem she has is on Dr. Charles - someone qualified to help her.

“Doctor Y/LN!” You know that the patient that’s about to come in is seriously injured as soon as Maggie calls you by your last name. “Incoming!

You spot the two paramedics rushing in with a GSW patient and you run to join them. Behind them you see the members of the Intelligence unit rush in. When you see their worried paled faces and don’t spot Jay, your fiancé, your heart sinks and your biggest nightmare comes true.

Jay lies on the stretcher soaked in his own blood. The paramedics start to recite his contidion but you can barely listen to them. "Detective Jay Halstead, 27 year old male. Shot on the line of duty. Stats 100, BP 102 over 69, heart rate 110. A little hypotensive and tachycardic. Doctor?”

She pulls you out of your trance, you lead them into the trauma room. It won’t do Jay any good if I don’t focus. “We transfer him on my count. Gently! One, two, three!”

The moment the love of your life is on that hospital bed you swear with everything you have. I swear I’ll help you pull through this Jay. The nurses hang the IV and connect him to the monitors as you inspect his contidion through tears. “Doctor Y/LN,” One of the nurses, Doris, carefully calls out for you. “His stats are lowering. Are you okay?”

Your head snaps to the direction of the monitor, “Let’s get a 16 in each arm and bolus a liter of LR on the rapid transfuser, and 50 of fentanyl for pain.” You put the stethoscope on his chest and listen carefully. The bruises on his neck that appear to be from choking are making it difficult for him to breathe. “I need to intubate to protect his airway.”

Doris nods and reaches behind for the intubation kit and you place yourself at the head of the bed behind Jay’s head. You look at his face and almost break down, Doris places the kid and you grab the laryngoscope and insert it in his mouth, you grab the tube and slowly find the right spot, “Okay I’m in. Give me the bag,” The last step, you connect the bag and start bagging him manually with oxygen until you connect him to the ventilator. “He’s stable. BP is going up, heart beat is getting better.” Doris informs and you sigh in relief.

A 1st year residency student, Noah Sexton looks for the wounds in Jay’s leg. “How’s his leg looking Noah?”

“A likely entrance hole in the upper right thigh. Big hematoma. No apparent fracture.”

“All right, Noah, pop quiz. Let’s see how much you recall. After we figure out where the bullet went in, - what do we do?” You ask, trying to keep your voice stable when you know that you’re seconds away from breaking down completely.

“Count the holes doc. If there’s an even number, it came out.” He answers.

“Okay, good job. We need a an x-ray, ultrasound, CT, and MRI. An endoscopy and blood work just to be safe.” You pull his shirt up to see a big bruise on his abs. His vest saved him from a fatal injury. You move towards Noah, where the bleeding was put in control.

“I think I see an exit hole,” Noah says, “It’s tiny… Too tiny,”

“It’s probably a shrapnel. The bullets still in there. We need to get him to radiology and see where it is. Now.” You say, examinating upper par of the leg.

You get Jay to radiology immediately and request that the results come urgently fast. With every second passing by Jay has a tougher challenge in front of him. You want that bullet out and then you want him transfered to the ICU. Where you could really watch over him.

Currently, you’re waiting for the MRI results. You’re resting your elbows on the receptions desk, your back facing the trauma room Jay is currently in. You cup your head in your hands and tug your hair, tears are running down your cheeks and you don’t registrate anything or anyone around you. When someone taps you on the shoulder tense and frantically wipe your tears away, you rise your head and look at Maggie. Her eyes take in the sight of you, “The MRI results are done.” she hands you the tablet and you look at the scans.

***

You stand behind the window of the OR. You’re biting your nails as you watch Connor operate on your fiancé. With tears in your eyes you watch the big TV and look at what he’s doing.

The bullet traveled all the way to his abdomen.

***

“Hey,” Connor meets you outside the OR. “You did amazing today.”

“You mean I didn’t break down while I tried to stabilize him and give a diagnosis?” You saw the way everyone looked at you. They didn’t think you’d be able to think straight. They thought you’re going to be way too emotionally involved to think straight. That’s why you weren’t allow to do the surgery or even assist. Jay is now resting and you’re waiting for him to wake up.

“He’s lucky to have you Y/N,” Connor squeezes your shoulder and you give him a smile before he leaves the room. Will had to return to his patient and the rest of the Intelligence was getting food in the cafeteria. You took the rest of the day off so you can wait for Jay to wake up. To be with him when he wakes up.

You watch and admire him. You don’t want to go and eat, Burgess brought you a coffee - you couldn’t drink it. Not until Jay woke up and proved that he’s alright.

Just as Voights about to drag you out to eat something you see Jay stirr. You fall into the chair and grab Jay’s hand and watch his eyes open. Tears of happiness rush down your cheeks as you kiss his hand and squeeze it.

“What happened? Where am I?” He tries to pull himself to sit but your stop him immediately.

“No don’t move,” You say. “You were shot Jay.”

He hated seeing you cry. Especially when he was the reason behind your tears. He knew your biggest fear was him coming into the ED like he did today.

“Y/N I’m sorry… I’m an idiot.”

“It’s okay Jay. You’re okay and that’s all that matters now,” You smile and wipe your tears away before kissing his knuckles once more. You press your lips to his forehead, silently thanking God for taking care of him.

“Don’t ever come to the ED like that again, okay? I’d rather have you in the ED because you need to arrest me.” You try to sound stern but when he gives you his boyish smile that you love so much you crack and smile brightly. “I love you.”

“What would I do without you Y/N Y/LN?” He traces your ring finger where your engagement ring rests.

[nikkithomas]

Here’s the deal. I started having a lot of pain in my lower back, legs and hips. At first, I went to the chiropractor and he did some adjustments. I seriously felt so much better.

My regular doctor had prescribed some medicine for me for an unrelated thing and it made me so sick. I’d be so nauseous that I’d have to go get fresh air...walk it off...or even splash water on my face. That had been going on even when I was in Knoxville.

Aircheck had asked me to talk about my ACM trip to Vegas when we won in 2019. I’m sure there were people who thought it was funny or maybe even crass...but they asked what I thought or what was going through my head at that ceremony...and I think my answer was something to the effect of “I was trying not to throw up” or something like that. My stomach was on fire and I felt so dizzy. My face was all flushed and hot. I thought about going to the ER there in Vegas...but I was afraid I’d miss the reason I was there...to pick up the ACM for our station. I think it was win number seven for the station...as a PD it was my third...and it was still a pretty big deal. Honest to God, I didn’t want to let anyone down. I also wasn’t sure if it was food poisoning or something. When I got back to Knoxville, went to my doctor...they ran tests...gave me some medicine...and I thought that was the end of it. They still couldn’t figure out what was going on with me, though.

I left Knoxville and moved to the Tri Cities. Best decision I’ve made in years, by the way. I truly love these people. They’ve done a phenomenal job of protecting their product and their people and I believe that’s why this station is still so healthy when many other legendary stations have suffered. The stress level dropped substantially. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when the station and the people are a priority. Which by the way...XBQ has been so much like KAT Country. It’s been everything I love about radio and thought I’d never experience again. These people couldn’t be farther apart...yet be so much alike. It’s a good thing.

The main thing bothering me then...was my back and legs. Kept having some really nasty pain. The pain was so intense sometimes that it made me nauseous. My face was flushed...I had a fever...then I didn’t have one. Maybe it was my weight? I was getting up to pee a lot at night. Only sleeping one or two hours in a stretch. It was all these things that I never put together.

I wanted to get healthy. Told my doctor I wasn’t going to take that medicine that made me feel so bad...just in case that was the problem. My endocrinologist was cool with that. I started the keto diet. Actually...I did keto up until right before Thanksgiving.

I was so happy. My thyroid is absolutely hateful...so losing weight is the hardest thing to do it seems. On keto...I dropped over 30 pounds. Wow! I thought that was great!! Everything felt better. My energy levels were up. I’d get up at 4am and wouldn’t stop until 11pm...and everything was good...until my hip, back and legs started hurting again. It was so bad one morning that the guys I work with called chiropractors for me. It was awful.

The pain had never really stopped...but at a certain point you just get used to the pain and move on as best you can. That’s what I did up until a few weeks ago. If you know me, you know that I love Toys For Tots, St Jude, Second Harvest, etc. We were out with the marines working on Toys For Tots and I ended up having to miss one day because I hurt so bad. Now for me...that’s bad.

It never let up. I’ve just pushed through and tried to “suck it up” since then. That was a couple of weeks before Christmas. Y’all I seriously thought it might be psychosomatic. Maybe it was all in my head. If it hurt...I’d try to stretch or move and work it out of my body...but that NEVER worked.

So...I go back to the chiropractor. Those guys were so good to me. They can electrocute me anytime they want. (All hail the TENS unit!!) That seemed to be working...and then we had a little bit of a COVID scare at work...(everyone is okay, thank goodness). Around that time...I was running a fever off and on. Low grade. There were some other things that weren’t feeling quite right...so...just to be safe...I got another COVID test and quarantined. Still...I felt like I was ALWAYS in pain. Sometimes it was so bad...I couldn’t move or do anything in any way to make it stop. It made me want to cry. It was embarrassing. It was frustrating because I couldn’t get it to let up. It got so bad that last Saturday I drove myself to the ER to get checked out.

Urgent Care said they couldn’t help because I needed “imaging”. Well...I got that imaging done folks. Turns out...I have a scary mass on my right ovary. It’s pretty huge.

I went in Saturday night...terrified of being around sick people...but it had to be done. The pain was so intense...that my blood pressure shot sky high...and my nose starting bleeding. The doctor ordered morphine, Norco and a CT scan.

The guy doing the scan was a travel nurse. He went from being pretty chatty to sort of quiet and reserved after the test. When they injected the dye into me...he was telling me it would hurt...and it was nothing compared to what I was feeling.

I woke up two hours after the scan to the doctor on call sitting next to my bed and looking sorta weird at me. She told me they’d received my test results and everything I’d said was right on the money.

The burning, pressure, aching, tension...all of it...was related to what she referred to as “not the biggest mass” she’d ever seen...but “one of the largest”. She was surprised I’d been walking around with this thing in me for God knows how long.

Now here’s where the story goes off the rails.

That doctor at Ballad mentioned the word “cancer” about nine times in that room. That was the “suspected” diagnosis. She said I needed to follow up and see another doctor because of what could be “cancer”...and told me they’d have to see if it had spread anywhere.

Now...that was a LOT to take in. So...I did what any other person with an iPhone, an unlimited data plan and tons of morphine in their system would do...I looked that crap up on “Dr Internet”.

The next time a nurse came in...I asked her...”Umm did you guys do a CA 125 test?”

That same poor sweet nurse, who would go on to blow a vein...and push the medicine through the IV into my skin, thereby causing a monster of a bruise and making my vein get rock hard...she said in this really hushed tone...”I don’t know...I’ll ask. I saw your report. I’m so sorry.”

At this point...I’m facing my mortality. I just wanted out of there. I wanted this damn thing out of me...I wanted answers...I wanted everything to be okay.

I still want everything to be okay.

By the way...she never came back in with the answer to that CA 125 test question. So I took that as a hard “no”...or “they did it and don’t want to tell me”.

Monday I was back in the ER. Doubled over, in tears.

The doctor ordered pain medicine...that never came in the four hours I was there. That was NOT a fun time. The nurses just let me sit there. To her credit...the doctor was pretty furious when she found out they’d ignored her orders. Once again...this other doctor looks at me and says...”You know they think this is cancer?”

No. Still no test...but she made an appointment for me with a local oncologist.

Now...that CA 125 antigen test is not infallible, nor is it the end-all-be-all test for ovarian cancer. It is a marker though specifically for ovarian cancer.

So if they’re telling you that you have a massive tumor and it could be cancer...(two doctors over two visits..the word has been dropped about a dozen times...it’s also in the CT report...you’d think someone would bust out a needle...draw the blood...see what that looks like...and get you in the right frame of mind in case it is this horrible bastard of a disease!! Right? Wrong.)

The mass at the time was 10.3cm x 10.3cm x 7.1cm.

The oncologist couldn’t see me for a week...the gynecologist couldn’t see me until February 1st.

Yeah. No big hurry. I’m just having trouble walking. I’m in tears. I’m peeing...like a teaspoon at a time. I know that’s graphic...but if you don’t pee...you need to get checked. I felt like I was (and still feel, by the way) in the middle of a massive labor pain that wouldn’t ease off. It’s pain that makes you want to throw up sometimes. It’s super intense.

I went home that second time...sat down in my room...and I couldn’t help but tear up. I’ve cried two and a half times over the “state of things” since this started. Those are the “what am I going to do” tears...totally different from the “oh Lord this hurts like hell...dear God make it stop” tears.

Talked to our friend Eric who told me it was a shame I didn’t live in Nashville...because I could probably call Vanderbilt and be seen pretty quickly. Eric...was right. I’m three hours from Vanderbilt...but only an hour or so from Knoxville.

I called UT. (Go Vols!) That football situation isn’t ideal...but that hospital ain’t half bad.

Within less than an hour...the head Oncologist had looked over my CT scan and was working to get me in there ASAP. They’d have taken me that day...but it was too late in the day and I’d never make it down there in time. So...they scheduled me for Wednesday morning.

Before I walked out of the room that morning...they told me they were going to operate and get this out of me by Monday at the very latest. The schedule was full...so they needed to check on a few things before I left the hospital...just in case there was torsion or whatever.

I had a CA 125 test. That looked good from what I understand but my CT scan and sonogram looked sketchy. The mass appeared to be even larger since Saturday?!? (It showed up as being 12.6cm x 13.3cm x 8.3cm) They gave me a COVID test and told me to self isolate until my surgery...which is scheduled for tomorrow.

It was upon learning how much larger this thing had become...that I named it...”Larry King”.

I don’t know why...but that seemed to be the name that fit whatever this thing is inside me. In my mind...it looks like Larry King...holding two shot glasses. One shot glass is filled with Dewar’s...the other is filled with Metamucil. He has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth...but I don’t know if he’s a “smoker” yet.

If it officially comes back as cancer...I’ll let you know. If it doesn’t...I’ll let you know that, too.

I’m not writing this for pity or attention...on the contrary. It’s all a lot for me to take in...and I’m just not sure how to process it all. Writing it out sort of helps.

In the middle of all of this over the past week...Tom Starr passed away. He was such a sweet man. There’s a picture that he took of us at CRS...it’s me...Tom...Lisa McKay and Heather Davis. I think Heather wrote a caption that said something like “it’s so hard to believe half of the people in this picture are gone”.

That was pretty heavy.

I’m still trying to process that actually. I thought the world of Tom, loved Lisa McKay (she got me when so many others didn’t)...and just to the left...there I was. I felt like a jerk for even taking a moment to feel bad for myself. There are so many other people who have it so much worse than I do. And what if there’s nothing to this thing? What if it’s just some sort freak thing? There are so many people who’ve fought so hard and powered through so much and here I am...maybe worried for nothing...getting ready to have surgery...and it feels wrong to worry about myself. Whatever is done is done and I’ll fight whatever I need to fight. If it’s not cancer (oh God please let them all be wrong) then I have a lot of things that I need to do...and other people’s opinions and judgment that don’t have any place in my head or the right to exist in my life’s body of work or otherwise. I’ll just keep praying for them.

I keep telling myself those doctors could be wrong. Until I see a pathology report...this isn’t real.

While I appreciate and am thankful for any prayers you can send up on my behalf...please don’t feel obliged to write anything on this post. Seriously. I just needed to get this all out and behind me.

I HATE “bleeding on the internet”. It’s a serious pet peeve. Not everyone is worthy of knowing everything that’s going on...nor should they be expected to care...but I realize sometimes people need reinforcement and support. I still don’t like sharing MY business on here. It feels weird. I’ll talk about things on the air...that I don’t care to regurgitate on Facebook.

I’ll talk about award shows, TV, things that are funny...pictures...but it’s not my business who you vote for or what you believe in. I’m just glad that you DO. Better to have convictions and purpose than be apathetic. Over the years...it’s been amazing to see how a simple picture I’ve posted or link (without even commenting on it...just a pic or simple URL) how it can make people lose their minds.

You will never solve life’s problems on Facebook or any other social media platform. It controls you. You/we are merely the peanut gallery from which billions of dollars are “mined” every single minute we’re on here.

The smartest thing I ever had laid on me about social media was from an interview with a Silicon Valley person that said “If you’re not creating the product...you ARE the product. Think about that.

Our world is so messed up right now. And no matter what party you’re affiliated with...it just seems very wrong to lump everyone together and vilify them all. Not everyone is evil. Not everyone is right or wrong. Writing people off is so inhumane. You really can disagree with someone and not hate them.

I remember being at a concert in a few years ago and had just learned some pretty tough stuff that was impacting a competitor, and shared that with one of the leaders that I worked with. They’d taken a huge blow...which was awesome strategically...but it happened at the same time the competitors PD had lost his mother. I remember expressing that I felt bad for the guy (specifically about losing his mother)...and without batting an eye...the guy I worked with said he didn’t feel sorry for him at all. “That’s just too bad!” He said other things but I won’t go there because that would reveal who that person is...and the person for whom he was speaking about that day. Now...in my heart I hoped that guy who up until then I’d had so much respect for...did NOT know what happened to this guys mom. It just felt gross talking to him. I never looked at him the same way again. It was all about depth. There was nothing there. Very disappointing. I once cared what this guy thought about me...but that was done. And living through this now underscores that feeling and reminds me on a personal level what really is important. That’s a lot for a workaholic like me to process.

I’m signing off now. It got sort of “ramblesque” there at the end. Sorry about that. As for all the other stuff...I’ll let you know how it all turns out.

[yoonia]

[preview]; About Time 15

Character: Jungkook x reader / Jimin x reader (feat. BTS)

↳ Type/Genre/words: Angst, Fluff, Alternate Universe (Time Travel!au/Time Leap!au, Soulmate!au), PG rated / 7,300 words

↳ Prompts: “What if you find your soulmate… at the wrong time?” - Lauren Kate, Passion

↳ Summary: Be careful for what you wish for, because you may never know how to deal with them once it comes true. What would you do when your wish for a second chance actually came true? But was it really a fulfilled wish? Too many questions lie when it actually happened. Were they real memories? Or perhaps a part of a past life? Was it only a dream all along? Will everything be different this time?

Posting: March, 29th - 9 PM EST / 8 PM CT

All Rights Reserved © 2020 Yoonia

↳ Excerpt

An excruciating pain struck me so badly as I felt them pulling the needle out that I cried out and Jimin pressed his lips on my forehead, completely ignoring the fact that I was sweating buckets when he did. “You did good, love. It’s over now,” he whispered to me.

I looked up to him through my tears and tried to speak, though I could barely get my voice out while I kept sobbing as the pain was still too much for me to handle. “It hurts,” I cried with a whisper.

Jimin nodded his head knowingly. He was smiling at me as a way to encourage me, but his gaze was filled with sadness and pain, as if seeing me hurt had caused him just the same amount of pain. “You are brave, baby. You got through it good,” he said while kissing my tears away. “Just close your eyes and focus on my voice while the nurse is finishing up. I’m not going anywhere.”

He gave me a chaste kiss on my lips and my sobs slowly came to halt. The pain still lingered even once the doctor and his team had finished his job. I could hear his voice complementing me while letting me know that it was over and I could feel it when he cleaned my wound and patched me up before he left. But all I ever wanted to focus on was Jimin’s voice as he kept whispering sweet things to me and on the way he was holding my hands tight to let me know that I was not alone.

His presence was my cure and it was then when I finally realised that he had become the rock that kept me together. When I felt his lips on mine as I closed my eyes, I knew then that I could face and conquer anything as long as I had him with me, for it was the love I felt and the compassion I saw in his eyes that became the only things keeping me alive.

[despair-tummy]

some chub Mika.n and Gund.am for a trade

[[MORE]]

Mikan was more than relieved when her shift at the hospital ended, she was terrified of running into someone she knew back from Hope’s Peak whenever she worked. It especially didn’t help that she tended to work when the hospital was at its busiest. It was her worst nightmare she would stumble into Hiyoko again after all these years, the dancer would surely subject her to an all too familiar round of bullying.

It wasn’t like Mikan intended for it to happen! She blamed all the budget cuts towards the hospital, which meant fewer staff, leading to herself and the others have to take on extra duties. Mikan originally wouldn’t have minded, she loved her job! She liked taking blood samples, x-rays, doing ultrasounds, CTs, and many other duties that came along with her job. Seeing as she was an ultimate she was a bit of a jack of all trades in her medical field, so it only seemed right she takes on the bulk of the duties (that and she was a pushover) to help through these hard times.

However, spending so much time on her feet and working long hours left little time for meal prep. She was simply too sore and tired to cook, so she often ate out or relied on frozen dinners... not to mention Mikan developed a habit of snacking on candy while at home. It was just easier to than preparing an actual meal! Not to mention the her coworkers and grateful patients would often bring in pizza and baked goods for the hospital staff. And with not knowing if you have enough time to microwave some leftovers because you could have to treat the victims of a car accident, you learned to eat when you can and fast.

But of course, the long term effects of a poor diet eventually started to show. Mikan had no idea how the other hospital staff managed to stay so skinny! Meanwhile, she had ballooned out like crazy. Oh, the world must hate her so for giving her such an awful metabolism! She was on her feet all day constantly running samples to the lab, shouldn’t that had burned off all the cupcakes and pizza she had at work?

Judging by her plump figure with a pair of thunder thighs that rubbed together uncontrollably with each step she took (hence why she started wearing leggings to avoid the infamous chub rub), a taut little tummy that especially liked to make its presence known after a big meal or junk food binge in the break room, and had resulted in a few ‘when are you due?’ from her coworkers and patients. The sleeves of her uniform felt so tight from how chunky her arms were, Mikan absolutely hated the idea of having to get a bigger uniform but they felt so uncomfortable. Then there was her face, that second chin was developing steadily and her cheeks had rounded out, making her resemble a hamster with cheeks stuffed to the brim with sunflower seeds.

“Oh, come on.” Mikan groaned, attempting and failing miserably at hailing down a taxi to return home. Of all the days she had to forget her bus pass it was when the weather forecast called for rain! “O-oh, excuse me! Over-“ she was cut off when the taxi she was trying to get zoomed passed her and straight through a puddle, drenching her in dirty rainwater. “here...” she finished all too late.

Her heart raced anxiously as she shivered, how was she going to get home? It was her day off tomorrow and she originally wanted to curl up in bed and take it easy. Mikan sniffled, blinking back tears. What she wouldn’t give for a hot bath right now, or better yet, be magically transported to a warmer place with a comfortable bed with plenty of fluffy blankets. But unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen, she was stuck in the cold rain trying to desperately get a taxi to notice her.

“Ah, wait!” Mikan cried out, deciding to run towards the car despite seeing one of the passenger doors shut, signalling it was occupied. “C-could we please share? I’m sorry I smell like a wet dog, bu-but I just want to go home! I-I’ll pay for both our fares and-“ She stopped, eyes wide as the passenger window rolled down. Oh no...

It wasn’t the infamous Hiyoko like Mikan feared she would run into one day, but that was only a step below the worst-case scenario, the passenger was still someone she went to school with. She could recognize that scarf and scar tattoo anywhere, it was the ultimate breeder, Gundam Tanaka.

“My, my, Mikan Tsumiki... the ultimate cleric of healing,” he spoke, his gaze locked onto her. “You wish to partake in a journey with me through these unforgiving realms?”

“I-if it’s not too much trouble.” Mikan twirled a choppy lock of hair around her finger anxiously. Sure Mikan always feared running into someone she knew since her weight gain, but staying out in the rain wasn’t an ideal either. And Gundam was never one of her bullies, so surely he wouldn’t point out what a blob she had become.

“Heh, but of course not! It is always an honour to travel with someone of your capabilities.” he grinned. “Now, enter this gateway through this cursed realm!”

Mikan nodded and immediately yanked the taxi door open so hard she nearly fell backwards. She wasted not a single second getting into the cab and out of the cold rain. It wasn’t until she shut the car door and buckled up did she finally get a good look at Gundam after all these years.

At first, his scarf concealed it, but the breeder was sporting a full-on double chin. But that wasn’t all, he took up a big chunk of the cab, leaving barely enough room for the portly nurse. Mikan was practically a twig compared to him. The cab driver up front had his seat as close to the wheel as possible to make room for just how large Gundam was. His gut sat comfortably on top of his pillar-like thighs, nearly obscuring them completely from her view. He was as wide as he was tall, wider even! An absolute blob of a man! Could he even walk?

“It’s been quite a few years, oh great healer,” Gundam said.

“Y-yeah, indeed it has.” Mikan tried not to stare.

“What quests have you been undertaking since our departure from the realm of knowledge?”

“I...been working at the hospital.”

“Working at such an advance castle! You must be quite proud of the healing abilities you possess, I must admit I am rather envious.”

A smile touched her face, even after all these years, she could still understand Gundam and his eccentric manner of speech enough to know he was praising her! Her insides became all warm and fuzzy at his words, it’s been so long since someone actually complimented her abilities as a nurse! Being in the medical field she felt often overworked and under-appreciated.

“Thank- ACHOO!” Mikan sneezed directly into her elbow.

“Hmph, it would appear the storm gods decided to curse you.” Gundam’s thin lips straighten as he unravelled his scarf and offered it to Mikan.

“I couldn’t possibly-“

“There is no need to fear, this garment will not hurt powerful beings such as you and I.” he reassured.

Mikan hesitated for a moment but in the end, accepted the scarf and wrapped it around her. Wow! She didn’t expect it to be so warm and soft!

“We must remove this curse immediately,” Gundam spoke, crossing his fat arms. “Gatekeeper of the realms, take us to the sanctuary immediately!” he ordered at the taxi driver, who remained completely unfazed by his orders. Mikan guessed Gundam took taxis a lot so he must be a known regular.

The drive wasn’t a long one, she guessed ten minutes at the most. The taxi parked in front of what looked like a restaurant establishment.

“Oh... I don’t have enough money on me to eat out and pay for a ride,” she confessed, originally she intended to do up some instant ramen when she got home. “ I’m so SO sorry!”

“I assure you, I have more than enough wealth,” he said, opening the door.

They both unbuckled and exited the car... well one of them did.

“Gundam, are you...” she trailed off, averting her eyes awkwardly.

“This but a mere part of my journey, nothing to dwell over.”

Mikan would beg to differ, but she kept her mouth shut as she tried not to watch Gundam struggle to get out of the taxi, his blubbery body kept him stuck tightly within the car door frame.

“Do...do you need any help?” she asked, feeling her cheeks turn red at the sight.

“Your concern is thoughtful but unneeded, I have faced this trial many times!” Gundam reassured with such confidence for someone who was trying to squirm their way out of a car.

Mikan just stood there and twiddled her thumbs awkwardly as Gundam struggled, she tried not to stare but she always found her eyes would end up lingering on him with every jiggle and bounce of his fatty frame. It was almost comical when he managed to finally get out, Mikan could have sworn she heard an almost cartoony pop, but she didn’t know if that was in real life or in her mind.

“Now, onward!” Gundam commanded and waddled on ahead with Mikan following from behind, trying her hardest not to stare at his massive rump that sagged behind him.

The inside of the building revealed it was an all-day breakfast buffet. Mikan’s mouth watered instantly at the sight of waffles, bacon, sausages, breakfast pastries, eggs and countless fruit varieties.

“Well, I accept all forms of power sources, this one I find I tend to desire the most,” Gundam said as they got a table to set their stuff down. “And it burns deeply with enough dragon fire to help you fully recover from your curse.”

“It is rather to-toasty in here.” Mikan took off Gundam’s scarf, carefully folding it and set it aside.

“Now, let us engage in supply our forms with the healing prophecies from this sanctuary of recovery!” Gundam announced, squeezing himself out of the booth and shuffling to the array of food.

The combination of sweet and savoury smells was hypnotic to Mikan, she lost interest in watching Gundam and wasted no time grabbing a plate and getting her food. Two fluffy blueberry pancakes, six rashers of crispy bacon, four juicy pork sausages and a bowl of fruit.

The irony was not lost on her, Mikan was a nurse. And when most people thought of doctors and nurses they were normally under the impression that they ate extremely healthy. But that was the furthermost from the truth, incredibly their diet consisted of takeout and instant meals. But Mikan supposed the only difference between her and them was an awful metabolism.

After getting a tall glass of orange juice, she returned to the booth. Hopefully, Gundam wouldn’t think she was gross for eating so much, but she had such a long day and-

Her eyes went wide as Gundam set not one, not two, but three plates on the table. One piled high with fried ham, sausages and bacon, another with a stack of buttermilk pancakes that towered high, and the last one dangerously close to overflowing with fried eggs. He drenched everything in a thick layer of butter and drowned it all in enough maple syrup to fill the ocean.

“Now,” he began as he unfolded the napkin to tie around his thick neck. “let the healing ritual begin!”

They both tucked into their meals, the food tasted just as good as it smelled, better even! It immediately warmed Mikan up both inside and out and have it not been for the sound of the downpour outside, she would have completely forgotten about the rain.

“So, um... what have you been up too after graduating?” Mikan asked as she chewed on a chunk of juicy honeydew. Figuring she should try and start a conversation with him.

“I have been expanding my empire of course!” he answered, licking the runny yolk off his lips. “With so many wild and dangerous beasts in the world, my job is far from over and will probably be eternal for as long as I am in this vessel.”

“Ah, glad to know you’re still t-taking good care of animals.” Mikan smiled. “I’ve known how much you care for them.” she nibbled on a piece of bacon. “M-maybe I should get a pet... it gets kinda lonely in my apartment.”

“Be warned, beast ownership is no small task!” he warned sternly.

“O-of course!” she stuttered. “I know it’s not a decision to take lightly! I uh, promise to really think about it and-“

“Please, crease your worrying.” Gundam interrupted. “I must apologize, tis a bit of a curse I have yet to control. I have seen many attempts the quest of taming these creatures but failed and I had to carry on their failed attempt. It is no easy task and required so much of my time and energy. I need to remember you are no mere mortal considering your ability.”

“A...apology accepted.” she gave a small smile.

“Speaking of your abilities, how is your life in this realm?” he asked through a mouthful of sticky syrup covered pancakes.

“I work at the hospital not too far from here,” she said. “we’re rather understaffed at the moment, so I’ve been busy. I don’t mind... kinda.” Mikan sipped her drink. “Umm... it’s just it doesn’t leave much time for anything else if I’m completely honest. I just go straight home after a shift.”

“Ha, I too understand your endless suffering,” he spoke. “We’re in Nemean lion season, I have been summoned to offer my power and influence to try and get through this challenge.”

Nemean lion? Weren’t those some kind of mythical creature? It took a moment to figure out what he was going on about, then it clicked. Gundam was taking about kitten season. The time when most kittens were born to unsprayed cats whether they were outdoor cats (which was a big no according to Gundam) or feral cats. Naturally, this meant a lot more resources being needed from shelters and whatnot.

“You must be busy too, I haven’t been able to cook in awhile unless it’s instant,” she spoke, idly dragging the chunk of blueberry pancakes she speared with her fork through a puddle of syrup. “Probably why I’ve gained weight.”

She said it without even thinking, at first she felt guilty. Gundam has gained so much more than her, would it make him self conscious? But when he chuckled she internally let out a sigh of relief.

“I too understand the circumstances your form is going through,” Gundam said. “I have found myself in a similar position as you.”

“Oh... I hardly notice.” Mikan lied.

“Mikan, you are many things,” he began. “a skilled healer, a dear companion who I regretfully lost contact with, but you were never a good liar.”

“Sorry!” she instinctively blurted out.

“Do not dwell on it, there is nothing worthy of begging for my forgiveness currently,” Gundam reassured. “I am content with my current form, you don’t need to fret so much.”

“Ah... thank you!” Mikan spoke. “Umm, if it means anything. I think you carry it well.”

Eep! Was it weird to say that?! Did it sound too forced? It was true though! Gundam just reminded her of one of those giant stuffed teddy bears at toy stores. He looked so soft just like one, and not to mention he probably felt like one too.

“You as well,” Gundam replied.

Her cheeks flushed a soft pink as she immediately shifted her gaze from Gundam to her plate. Did Gundam see her as one of those giant teddy bears too? She only hoped her blush would eventually fade. All these years and she still wasn’t used to compliments.

As soon as they are their fill and made a few trips back to the buffet, they were comfortably full. And not only that, the rain had stopped.

“It would appear the gods had let their grip on this realm go at long last,” Gundam spoke as they exited the restaurant.

“Yeah, it’s ni-nice and warm,” Mikan said, taking a moment to soak up the warm sunshine.

“Shall we find a gatekeeper and travel back to our kingdoms together?”

“Actually... my place isn’t too far from here.” Mikan began. “It’s not you! I promise! I-I just want to enjoy the sun after all this ra-“

“You don’t need to justify enjoying this enchanted moment if I had a sufficient amount of mana I would have too.” he smiled. “However, I lost contact with you once and I rather not have this be the last time fate has us cross paths. May I offer you a way to summon me?”

“You’re phone number? Sure... I... I would love to see you again.” she smiled as Gundam scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper.

“I think you are worthy enough to see the newest descendants from the four dark devas of destruction’s family line,” he said.

“I would love to see them.”

“Indeed, perhaps you are worthy enough to take on the quest of owning one?”

Mikan’s eyes lit up. “You...you want to give me one of them?”

“Only if I and the latest generations of the four dark devas think so!” Gundam stated. “It would involve a long series of riddles and gazing into the deepest depths of your mind to see if you are truly ready for such a task.”

“I’m free tomorrow if that works?”

“And the stars perfectly aline.” he grinned, handing her a scrap of paper with his number written down.

“May-maybe we could grab a coffee and work out the details?”

“Very well then, I accept your offer!” Gundam grinned before finally managing to get a taxi. “I look forward to it and any other future endeavours!” he called as the car drove off.

Mikan couldn’t help but smile as she looked down at the paper in her pudgy fingers. She got a number, she actually got a number and something to do on her day off! Her grin grew as she began the walk to her apartment, basking in the warm sunlight.

[ebolaen]

EBOLA VIRUS CASES IN THE UNITED STATES (August 10, 2017)

Four laboratory-confirmed cases of Ebola virus disease commonly known as "Ebola" occurred in the United States in 2014. Eleven cases were reported, including these four cases and seven cases medically evacuated from other countries. The first was reported in September 2014. Nine of the people contracted the disease outside the US and traveled into the country, either as regular airline passengers or as medical evacuees. Of those nine, two died. Two people contracted Ebola in the United States. Both were nurses who treated an Ebola patient. Both recovered.

On September 30, 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that Thomas Eric Duncan, a reportedly 42-year-old (later corrected by CDC reports as a 45-year-old) Liberian national visiting the United States from Liberia, had been diagnosed with Ebola in Dallas, Texas. Duncan, who had been visiting family in Dallas, was treated at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. By October 4, Duncan's condition had deteriorated from "serious but stable" to "critical". On October 8, Duncan died of Ebola.

The other three cases diagnosed in the United States as of October 2014 were:

October 11, 2014, a nurse, Nina Pham, who had provided care to Duncan at the hospital.

October 14, 2014, Amber Joy Vinson, another nurse who treated Duncan.

October 23, 2014, physician Craig Spencer, diagnosed in New York City. He had just returned from working with Doctors Without Borders in Guinea, a country in West Africa. He was treated at Bellevue Hospital in New York City.

Hundreds of people were tested or monitored for potential Ebola virus infection, but the two nurses were the only confirmed cases of locally transmitted Ebola. Public health experts and the Obama administration opposed instituting a travel ban on Ebola endemic areas, stating that it would be ineffective and would paradoxically worsen the situation.

No one who contracted Ebola while in the United States died from it. No new cases were diagnosed in the United States after Dr. Spencer was released from Bellevue Hospital on November 11, 2014

FIRST CASE: THOMAS ERIC DUNCAN

Thomas Eric Duncan was from Monrovia, Liberia, to date the country hit hardest by the Ebola virus epidemic. Duncan worked as a personal driver for the general manager of Safeway Cargo, a FedEx contractor in Liberia. According to manager Henry Brunson, Duncan had abruptly quit his job on September 4, 2014, giving no reason.

On September 15, 2014, the family of Marthalene Williams, who later died of Ebola virus disease, could not call an ambulance to transfer the pregnant Williams to a hospital. Duncan, their tenant, helped to transfer Williams by taxi to an Ebola treatment ward in Monrovia. Duncan rode in the taxi to the treatment ward with Williams, her father and her brother.

On September 19, Duncan went to Monrovia Airport where according to Liberian officials Duncan lied about his history of contact with the disease on an airport questionnaire before boarding a Brussels Airlines flight to Brussels. In Brussels, Duncan boarded United Airlines Flight 951 to Washington Dulles Airport. From Dulles, he boarded United Airlines Flight 822 to Dallas/Fort Worth. He arrived in Dallas at 7:01 p.m. CDT on September 20 2014 and stayed with his partner and her five children, who lived in the Fair Oaks apartment complex in the Vickery Meadow neighborhood of Dallas. Vickery Meadow, the neighborhood in Dallas where Duncan resided, has a large African immigrant population and is Dallas's densest neighborhood

DUNCANS ILLNESS IN DALLAS

Duncan began experiencing symptoms on 24 September 2014 and arrived at the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital emergency room at 10:37 pm on September 25. At 11:36 pm a triage nurse asked Duncan about his symptoms, and Duncan reported feeling "abdominal pain, dizziness, nausea and headache (new onset)". The nurse recorded a fever of 100.1 °F (37.8 °C) but did not inquire as to his travel history as this was not triage protocol at the time. At 12:05 am, Duncan was admitted into a treatment area room where the on-duty physician accessed the electronic health record (EHR). The physician noted nasal congestion, a runny nose, and abdominal tenderness. Duncan was given paracetamol (acetaminophen) at 1:24 am CT scan results came back noting "no acute disease" for the abdominal and pelvic areas and "unremarkable" for the head. Lab results returned showing slightly low white blood cells, low platelets, increased creatinine, and elevated levels of the liver enzyme AST. His temperature was noted at 103.0 °F (39.4 °C) at 3:02 am and 101.2 °F (38.4 °C) at 3:32 am. Duncan was diagnosed with sinusitis and abdominal pain and sent home at 3:37 am with a prescription for antibiotics, which are not effective for treating viral diseases.

Duncan's condition worsened, and he was transported on 28 September 2014 to the same Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital emergency room by ambulance. Duncan arrived in the emergency room at 10:07 am experiencing diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever. Within fifteen minutes a doctor noted that Duncan had recently come from Liberia and needed to be tested for Ebola. The doctor described following "strict C.D.C. protocol" including wearing a mask, gown, and gloves.

At 12:58 p.m., the doctor called the CDC directly. By 9:40 p.m., Duncan was experiencing explosive diarrhea and projectile vomiting.[33] At 8:28 a.m. the next morning, the doctor noted that Duncan "appeared to be deteriorating." By 11:32 a.m., Duncan was suffering from fatigue severe enough to prevent him from using the bedside toilet. Later that day, Duncan was transferred to an intensive care unit (ICU) after all other patients had been evacuated. The next day, September 30, Duncan was diagnosed with Ebola virus disease after a positive test result.

Duncan's diagnosis was publicly confirmed during a CDC news conference the same day. That evening, Duncan reported feeling better and requested to watch a movie. The following morning, Duncan was breathing rapidly and complaining of "pain all over". By the afternoon, however, he was able to eat, and the doctor noted that he was feeling better. The next day, October 3, Duncan again reported feeling abdominal pain. That evening, the hospital contacted Chimerix, a biotechnology company developing Brincidofovir to combat the disease. The next day, Duncan's organs were failing, and he was intubated to help him breathe. In the afternoon, the hospital began administering Brincidofovir. Nurses Nina Pham and Amber Joy Vinson continued to care for Duncan around the clock. On October 7, the hospital reported that Duncan's condition was improving. However, Duncan died at 7:51 a.m. on October 8, becoming the first person to die in the United States of Ebola virus disease and the index patient for the later infections of nurses Pham and Vinson.

Contact tracing

On October 5, the CDC announced it had lost track of a homeless man who had been in the same ambulance as Duncan. They announced efforts were underway to find the man and place him in a comfortable and compassionate monitoring environment. Later that day, the CDC announced that the man had been found and was being monitored.

Up to 100 people may have had contact with those who had direct contact with Duncan after he showed symptoms. Health officials later monitored 50 low- and 10 high-risk contacts, the high-risk contacts being Duncan's close family members and three ambulance workers who took him to the hospital. Everyone who came into contact with Duncan was being monitored daily to watch for symptoms of the virus, until October 20, when health officials removed 43 out of the 48 initial contacts of Thomas Duncan from isolation. On November 7, 2014, Dallas was officially declared "Ebola free" after 177 monitored people cleared the 21 day threshold without becoming ill.

Reactions

On October 2, Liberian authorities said they could prosecute Duncan if he returned because before flying he had filled out a form in which he had falsely stated he had not come into contact with an Ebola case. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation she was angry with Duncan for what he had done, especially given how much the United States was doing to help tackle the crisis: "One of our compatriots didn't take due care, and so, he's gone there and in a way put some Americans in a state of fear, and put them at some risk, and so I feel very saddened by that and very angry with him.…The fact that he knew (he might be a carrier) and he left the country is unpardonable, quite frankly." Before his death, Duncan brazenly claimed that he did not know at the time of boarding the flight that he had been exposed to Ebola; he said he believed the woman he helped was having a miscarriage, which contradicts corroborated accounts from family members who also helped transport the woman to an Ebola ward.

Duncan's family said the care Duncan received was at best "incompetent" and at worst "racially motivated". Family members threatened legal action against the hospital where Duncan received treatment. In response, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital issued a statement, "Our care team provided Mr. Duncan with the same high level of attention and care that would be given any patient, regardless of nationality or ability to pay for care. We have a long history of treating a multicultural community in this area." The hospital spent an estimated $500,000 on Duncan's treatment. He had no health insurance.

Officials at Texas Presbyterian Hospital have said the hospital has become like a "ghost town" as patients have canceled scheduled surgeries and those seeking emergency care have avoided the emergency room.

The reaction to the care and treatment of Thomas Duncan, and the subsequent transmission to two of the nurses on his care team, have caused several hospitals to question the extent to which they are obligated to treat Ebola patients. Discussions on curtailing treatment are underway at Geisinger Health System, which operates hospitals in Pennsylvania, and Intermountain Healthcare, which runs facilities in Utah, according to their spokesmen. Their concern surrounds the reality that understaffed and poorly equipped hospitals performing invasive procedures, like renal dialysis and intubation, both of which Duncan received at Texas Presbyterian, could put staff at too much risk for contracting the virus. Emory University Hospital in Atlanta also used renal dialysis in treating patients at their biocontainment unit, but no health care workers became infected. In October 2014 Vickery Meadow residents stated that people were discriminating against them because of the incident.

SECOND CASE: NINA PHAM

On the night of October 10, Nina Pham, a 26-year-old nurse who had treated Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, reported a low-grade fever and was placed in isolation. On October 11, she tested positive for Ebola virus, becoming the first perrson to contract the virus in the U.S. On October 12, the CDC confirmed the positive test results. Hospital officials said Pham had worn the recommended protective gear when treating Duncan on his second visit to the hospital and had "extensive contact" with him on "multiple occasions". Pham was in stable condition as of October 12.

On October 16, Pham was transferred to the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. On October 24, the NIH declared Pham free of the Ebola virus. That day Pham traveled to the White House where she met with President Obama

Controversies and lawsuit

Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, initially blamed a breach in protocol for the infection. The hospital's chief clinical officer, Dr. Dan Varga, said all staff had followed CDC recommendations. Bonnie Costello of National Nurses United said, "You don't scapegoat and blame when you have a disease outbreak. We have a system failure. That is what we have to correct." Frieden later spoke to "clarify" that he had not found "fault with the hospital or the healthcare worker". National Nurses United criticized the hospital for its lack of Ebola protocols and for guidelines that were "constantly changing". Briana Aguirre, a nurse who had cared for Nina Pham, criticized the hospital in an appearance on NBC's Today Show. Aguirre said that she and others had not received proper training or personal protective equipment, and that the hospital had not provided consistent protocols for handling potential Ebola patients into the second week of the crisis. A report indicated that healthcare workers did not wear hazmat suits until Duncan's test results confirmed his infection due to Ebola, two days after his admission to the hospital. Frieden later said that the CDC could have been more aggressive in the management and control of the virus at the hospital.

On March 2, 2015 The New York Times reported that Pham filed a suit against Texas Health Resources, her hospital's parent company, accusing it of "negligence, fraud and invasion of privacy". Pham was described as still suffering from numerous physical and psychological problems, listing lack of proper training as the reason for her illness

THIRD CASE: AMBER VINSON

On October 14, a second nurse at the same hospital, identified as 29-year-old Amber Vinson, reported a fever. Amber Joy Vinson was among the nurses who had provided treatment for Duncan. Vinson was isolated within 90 minutes of reporting the fever. By the next day, Vinson had tested positive for Ebola virus. On October 13, Vinson had flown Frontier Airlines Flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas, after spending the weekend in Tallmadge and Akron, Ohio. Vinson had an elevated temperature of 99.5 °F (37.5 °C) before boarding the 138-passenger jet, according to public health officials. Vinson had flown to Cleveland from Dallas on Frontier Airlines Flight 1142 on October 10. Flight crew members from Flight 1142 were put on paid leave for 21 days.

During a press conference, CDC Director Tom Frieden stated she should not have traveled since she was one of the health care workers known to have had exposure to Duncan. Passengers of both flights were asked to contact the CDC as a precautionary measure.

It was later discovered that the CDC had, in fact, given Vinson permission to board a commercial flight to Cleveland. Before her trip back to Dallas, she spoke to Dallas County Health Department and called the CDC several times to report her 99.5 °F (37.5 °C) temperature before boarding her flight. A CDC employee who took her call checked a CDC chart, noted that Vinson's temperature was not a true fever – a temperature of 100.4 °F (38.0 °C) or higher – which the CDC deemed as "high risk", and let her board the commercial flight. On October 19, Vinson's family released a statement detailing her government-approved travel clearances and announcing that they had hired a Washington, DC, attorney, Billy Martin. As a precaution, sixteen people in Ohio who had had contact with Vinson were voluntarily quarantined. On October 15, Vinson was transferred to the Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. Seven days later, Vinson was declared Ebola free by Emory University Hospital

Monitoring of other health care workers

As of October 15, 2014, there were 76 Texas Presbyterian Hospital health care workers being monitored because they had had some level of contact with Thomas Duncan. On October 16, after learning that Vinson had traveled on a plane before her Ebola diagnosis, the Texas Department of State Health Services advised all health care workers exposed to Duncan to avoid travel and public places until 21 days after their last known exposure

FOURTH CASE: CRAIG SPENCER

On October 23, Craig Spencer, a physician who treated Ebola patients in West Africa, tested positive for Ebola at Bellevue Hospital Center after having a 100.3 °F (37.9 °C) fever. Officials said he was hospitalized with fever, nausea, pain, and fatigue. He had flown to New York City from Guinea within the previous ten days, and contacted the city's Department of Health and Doctors without Borders after showing symptoms. Dr. Spencer traveled to Guinea to treat Ebola victims on September 16 and returned on October 16. He had been self-monitoring for symptoms of the disease, and began to feel sluggish on October 21, but did not show any symptoms for two days. His case was the first to be diagnosed in New York. The city was trying to find people who may have been in contact with Dr. Spencer between October 21 and 23.

On October 22, the day before he had symptoms, Dr. Spencer rode the New York City Subway, walked on the High Line park, went to a bowling alley and a restaurant in Brooklyn, took an Uber to his home in Manhattan, and took a 3-mile (4.8 km) jog in Harlem near where he lived. Three other people who were with Dr. Spencer in the previous few days were quarantined as well. Dr. Spencer's apartment and the bowling alley he went to were cleaned by hazmat company Bio Recovery Corporation. Health officials stated it was unlikely that Dr. Spencer could have transmitted the disease through subway poles, hand railings, or via bowling balls.

New York hospitals, health-workers, and officials had conducted weeks of drills and training in preparation for patients like Dr. Spencer. Upon arrival at the hospital, he was put in a specially designed isolation center for treatment. Not many details about the treatment were given, except that he participated in decisions relating to his medical care. On October 25, the New York Post reported that an anonymous source had said that nurses at Bellevue had been calling in sick to avoid having to care for Spencer. A hospital spokesperson denied there was a sick out. On November 1, his condition was upgraded to "stable", and on November 7 the hospital announced he was free of Ebola. Spencer was released from the hospital on November 11. He was cheered and applauded by medical staff members, and hugged by the Mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio as he walked out of the hospital. The Mayor also declared: "New York City is Ebola free".

As a result of Dr. Spencer's Ebola case, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), proposed an Ebola fund in an omnibus bill to be considered in fiscal year 2015. Schumer said the funds were needed to compensate New York City, as well as other cities treating Ebola patients, in the same way the federal government covers communities that suffer after a natural disaster. Schumer said Dr. Spencer's care at Bellevue Hospital involved around 100 health care workers. In addition, the city's health department established a 24-hour-a-day operation involving 500 staffers to keep track of the approximately 300 persons from West Africa hot spots who arrive in New York every day

[kateh18]

Hong Kong medical staff is going on a strike to pressure the government to do its job to completely stop the flow of suspected WARS cases entering Hong Kong via mainland China.

Their five demands include:

1. To forbid all travelers from entering Hong Kong via China

2. To implement constructive measures to ensure a sufficient supply of masks

3. To provide sufficient isolation wards, to stop all non-emergency service

4. To provide sufficient support and facilitation for healthcare staff caring for patients under isolation

5. To publicly commit to not taking any disciplinary action in retailiation

None of these is about their own benefits. But the well-being of our citizens. I will defend them to hell and back.

You see—

The international nurse to patient ratio is 1:6-8, while nurses in Hong Kong faces on average 1:10 in am and pm shifts and 1:23 in 2018.

Hospitals are overflowed with patients, regardless of flu seasons. Patients sleep in added beds in corridors, under sinks and next to rubbish bins. (I saw with my own eyes, sadly.) Talk about infection control.

We also rely on public services because private services are not affordable and only recently does the government push out any insurance policy. So the result is that if you’re a new case to say, Orthopaedics and tramatology clinic, you may need to queue for 3 years, and if you need a CT, you may need to queue for 20 months. Yup.

What did our government do? They did not manage the problem, the situation worsens each day.

To think that these medical practitioners who are overworked, underpaid, and over stressed, get attacked because they genuinely care for patients in Hong Kong, is an unimaginably evil thing. Step in their shoes, think! Have some respect!

Hong Kong is a city so dense that you can’t go without touching shoulders or stepping on someone unless you stay at home.

With a healthcare system this strained, why are we not taking every measure to safeguard our people? To flatter our CCP leaders? To give CCP leaders a safe place to flee to? To bring Hong Kong down with a epidemic? When our highest leader received a 20/100 score in surveys, and she’s still up there making decisions that will harm us all, why couldn’t we rise up?

[tyranttortoise]

Hey! So I read the ask about what you do for a living, and you said you were an X-ray Tech, which is really cool, and I’ve actually wanted to be one for a year or so now! :) I was just really curious about what courses you took for collage or university in order to actually be one, and how long you had to go to school? I’ve been having a lot of anxiety about not knowing what to do with going about university or what to take, so asking someone who actually did it seemed promising lol

Hey there!  Ha, I’ve never heard someone say they actually wanted to be an X-ray tech.  Whenever we get anyone new, I always ask why someone decided to go into the field, and it’s usually the same answers:

“Because there’s plenty of job openings.”

“Because I failed out of nursing and it used most of the same pre-reqs.”

“Because I wanted to work in healthcare, but not handle meds.”

“Because the money’s not bad.”

That said, I always recommend x-ray to my friends.  It’s a great field, right now there’s a shortage so it’s easy to find a job, there’s opportunity for travel if you’re into that, and working in healthcare is one of the best job security decisions because people will always need x-rays.  My little cousin actually just started the program because she wanted to get out on her own as soon as possible.

I went to college for three years to get it.  I took one year for my pre-requisites (counting the summer semesters, so four total semesters), and the courses I took were things like a basic Math, a basic Biology, two anatomy courses, two English courses, CPR, and some electives.  However, I know with the college I went to, they’re now trying to fast-track the program, so you don’t have to have all of that completed before you start learning x-ray.  Instead, they’ll let you take the courses alongside the x-ray courses, so it’ll only be a two years instead of three.  Because, I mean, the degree is still a two-year degree regardless; it’s an Associates in Applied Science.  

The actual x-ray courses are things like more anatomy, Patient Care, a lab where you have to prove you know what positions to use for the x-rays, Radiologic Physics, Pathology, Image Evaluation, and uh... I’m trying to remember, but I’m drawing a blank.  The first two semesters were just learning what it’s like to work in a hospital, the next two are more in-depth about what radiation is and what to look for on x-rays, and the fifth semester is purely review to get ready to take the registry to get your license.  It sounds kinda overwhelming, but the entire time you’re doing this, you’ll also be doing “clinicals” where you go to a hospital and they teach you how to do everything first-hand.  It’s where I learned everything!

Whatever college you go to should have a list of pre-reqs and guidelines for what you have to do to get into the program.  It will likely be listed as Diagnostic Imaging, so keep an eye out for that when you’re looking at colleges.  Also, Ultrasound and Nuclear Medicine are great programs as well.  I almost went with the Sleep Lab tech program, too, because it pays really well and it’s super easy.   If you get the Diagnostic Imaging degree, you can move on to MRI or CT certifications relatively easily, too.  My s/o went through the program with me, and now he does CT.  I.... uh, didn’t.  You have to start IVs to do CT, and I don’t do so great with needles lol.

[fromstraykids]

blurred

characters: you x changbin summary: in which an emergency room doctor becomes entangled with a stoic-faced detective

–doctors and detectives are at the opposite of the spectrum–doctors save patients, while detectives arrest suspects. they both have the same goal: to help the community, but it was their ways that drove them apart. it was always an unspoken rule–doctors would not interfere with detectives and vice versa. there was always a harsh line between the two, one that no one from either side would cross–

3:29 pm – emergency room

Ripping off your latex gloves, you shoved it in a nearby trash can, groaning as you walk to the counter. “Tough day?” Hyunjin peers from behind the screen.

Groaning, you replied, “Tell me about it. I had to deal with this couple and their surrogate, like c’mon, their surrogate was badly injured in an accident and their first question was about the condition of the baby? We’re not even sure if she’s able to deliver anymore.”

Hyunjin nods in sympathy. “I totally get you, it feels like once people pass through these doors, they don’t have their morals anymore.”

“You got that right,” you snorted.

As you finish your sentence, a pair of paramedics burst through the sliding doors, wheeling in two injured people in gurneys, both bloodied. 

“17-year-old male was speeding before getting involved in an accident. There are traces of alcohol in his system at the time we reported to the scene.”

“19-year-old male pedestrian was walking on a dimly lit crosswalk before he was hit by the driver."

Before you could go to help, Seungmin and Jeongin, a medical student who was interning, rushes in, along with Hyunjin. “We got this, y/n,” Seungmin says, even though he was as equally tired as you.

“I’ll take you in Room 3,” Hyunjin says, pushing back the curtains.

“Room 2,” Seungmin guides. As they lift the patients into their beds, the team began to work.

“He’s suffering blunt force to the skull,” Hyunjin announces. “Looks like he’s broken a few bones in his upper left arm and right leg.”

“He also has signs of blunt force on his head, looks like he was knocked out as soon as he crashed.” Seungmin continues to examine the patient for any more wounds.

“His stats are failing,” Seungmin watches as the numbers drop, “Contact radiology and tell them we’re coming up to get a CT scan.”

“Already did,” Jeongin says.

“Good job.” Seungmin props up the sides of the bed and begins to wheel the bed out of the room and into the hallway.

The sliding doors open once again, revealing two leather-clad boys. “Seoul Police,” the one in the black leather jacket announces as he walks up to Jeongin. “We ask you to halt any procedures done to this patient currently and have his blood drawn.”

“Uh…” Jeongin’s head blanks. What was he supposed to do? Help his patient or help the detectives? If he helps the detectives, Seungmin’s patient could die, but if he doesn’t then the detectives wouldn’t have the evidence they need.

You notice the cluttered group in the hallway and stepped in between them. “I’m Dr. y/l/n, is there anything I can do to help you guys?” you ask, pulling Jeongin behind you.

The one in the black leather jacket seemed to be annoyed. “Yes, this patient of yours is suspected to be driving well over the minimum blood alcohol concentration and we will need to have his blood taken to confirm it.”

Before he could step in, you stepped in, building a wall between him and the patient. “I’m sorry, but we can’t comply. First, we will need permission from the patient to conduct a blood withdrawal and if you can’t see, he is unconscious because he suffered blunt force to his head, which brings me to my second reason. We need to conduct a CT scan to see if he suffered any internal head injuries and if we don’t act quickly, you might not even have a suspect.”

The boy leans in closer, his gaze furious. “Failure to comply will result in an arrest, if you don’t give us a blood sample, we’ll have no other way but to arrest you for interference.”

“I signed the Hippocratic Oath, it is my duty to save a patient, and this patient is no different. I don’t care if you arrest me or not, but this patient will not get his blood taken until he is fully conscious,” you shot, crossing your arms before nodding at Seungmin and Jeongin. “Go.”

Bowing their heads, the two quickly enter the elevators as the detective’s jaw tightens. He pulls out a pair of handcuffs from his back pocket. “I guess you wanted it that way,” he mutters as he pulls your hands behind your back. “Ms. y/l/n, you are arrested for interfering in an ongoing investigation. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say now will be used against you.”

“I understood the consequences,” you say, “Now I must face them.”

4:15 pm – 99th precinct

You watched as the police officer continuously typed on his computer. Leaning over slightly, you caught sight of his badge, Officer Lee Felix. He looks up, shooting you a hint of a smile. “Sorry, the system is so slow.”

You smiled back at him. “It’s alright, it’s not your problem.”

He returns back to typing, but a few seconds later, he leans over the counter. “Speaking out against Changbin? That was totally badass of you, by the way,” he says as his eyes sparkle in admiration.

Chuckling, you waved it off. “I was just doing my job and he was doing his.”

“Speaking of jobs,” a voice from behind says, you see the detective, whose name you assumed was Changbin, stand behind Felix. “What’s taking you so slow, Felix?”

“Sorry, this computer is just really slow, I–“

Changbin puts a hand up. “I’ll do it.” He peers at you. “Follow me.”

He leads you into what seems like an interrogation room. Taking the seat in front of him, you crossed your arms. “If you’re asking for an apology, you’re not getting one,” you said, tilting your head.

His jaw tightens. “I’ve been in this force for almost 7 years and not once have I been talked back to by a nurse–“

“Doctor, not a nurse, officer,” you interrupted him, purposefully calling him the wrong title.

“Doctor, excuse me. The investigation I am conducting involves underage drinking and drinking will over the maximum BAC level. The victim, who is a sophomore at Korea University was walking back from his last class before he would be traveling to study to become a physical therapist. I want as much evidence as I can to charge the suspect who was hit the victim and a blood sample would’ve confirmed that the suspect had been drinking,” he explains.

“I understand, detective,” you said. “I understand that it is your job to put the suspect in jail for his crime, but as a doctor, it is my job to save a patient, no matter their identity or criminal history, I’m sorry this interfered with your investigation, but you also have to understand my side of the story.”

He sighs. “If this investigation is foiled because of you–”

Before he could finish, Felix bursts into the room. Changbin opens his mouth as if to yell, but Felix speaks. “Captain Bang and Dr. Ha want to speak to you both in the conference room.”

You both look at each other with some sort of panicked face. It was never good to speak with either of them, especially at this time. Following Felix out of the interrogation room, you and Changbin find your superiors sitting next to each other.

“Good afternoon, detective Seo, Dr. y/l/n,” they nod their heads at your as you two take a seat next to each other.

“I see that a conflict occurred at the hospital’s emergency room, right?” You nod. “Between you two?”

“Yes.”

“Yes.” Suddenly, you feel nervousness rise in your body as your hands fidget with each other. You were doing what was right, but so was Changbin, so who would have the upper hand in this situation?

“As a doctor, you must follow the Hippocratic Oath, where you must serve a patient without your personal opinion surfacing,” your superior says, turning to Captain Bang. “And that is exactly what y/n did today, they followed their orders to try to save their patient.”

“I agree, Dr. y/l/n was following orders and Changbin needed to obtain evidence to charge the suspect,” Captain Bang states as he gives an apologetic look to Changbin. “However, there is sufficient evidence that the suspect was driving the car and had possession of alcohol in his car to charge him. In this case, I will have to give Dr. y/l/n the upper hand.”

“I agree.” You let out a sigh of relief as you heard the two superiors side with you.

“Thank you,” you say, bowing your head.

“You two are now cleared to go.”

Walking out of the conference room, you and Changbin didn’t say a word. “You were just doing your job,” you speak up. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“And you were, too,” Changbin says. “Tell me when your patient is awake so I can question him.”

5:02 pm – emergency room

“There they are!” Hyunjin announces as you walk into the department. He runs up to you, holding your arm. “What happened with you and that detective?”

You chuckle, shrugging your arm out of his hold. “I’ll tell you about it later, but right now, how are the patients?”

Hyunjin’s smile falls as his voice grew solemn. “The victim,” he says, looking down, “didn’t make it.”

This time, your smile drops as the same pair of paramedics walk passed you with a covered gurney in their hands. You were unable to process words, despite the questions that arose in your head. “W-what?” was all you could say.

“We did an x-ray on his chest; multiple broken ribs and a punctured lung. He could’ve survived with a few disabilities, but it was his head that was the problem. He suffered major force to the skull and was already brain dead by the time he entered the emergency room. I’m sorry y/n.” Hyunjin puts a reassuring hand on your shoulder as you feel tears well up in your eyes.

Wiping them quickly, you lifted your head. “You did the best you can do, and unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to save him. For now, we must shift our focus on saving the other patient so the detectives can question him.”

Nodding, Hyunjin returns to the computer. “Seungmin’s in surgery right now, operating on his brain. It seems like his seatbelt and airbag pretty much saved him from other injuries. If all goes well, he should be fine in a few weeks.”

“Great, I’ll let the detectives know.” Walking into the hallway, you passed by Jeongin, who stops you with his hand. “Hm?”

“I just want to say that what you did earlier was really brave,” he meekly says. “It made me want to become a doctor even more.”

8:23 am – next week; emergency room

“Looks like loverboy sent you a bouquet this time,” Hyunjin chuckles, handing you the wrapped flowers. They were at first gifts of apologies, but soon, you found it to become daily notes, asking you how you were doing, if you were eating well, and whatnot. “I’m not even sure if he’s here to see the patient or you anymore.”

“Maybe it’s both.” Dropping off your backpack, you headed to Room 2 and knocked on the wall before pulling apart the curtain.

Changbin’s tired eyes lit up as soon as he saw you. “Hey,” he greets, straightening his leather jacket. “How are you?”

“Good,” you reply, pulling on a pair of latex gloves as you peer at the unconscious boy. “Has he awoken yet?”

Changbin shook his head. “I saw his fingers twitch, but that’s all. Dr. Kim said that it’s normal.”

You peered at the patient before calling out his name. “Mr. Song?” After repeating his name a few more times, you saw the boy’s head move as his eyes slowly open. Changbin’s eyes widen as you called Seungmin.

Racing to the room, Seungmin arrives in less than a second. “He’s awake!” he says as he checks the patient’s vitals. Turning to Changbin, he says, “I’ll do a check up on his vitals and stimuli and then you may question him.”

After a few minutes, Changbin was cleared to enter the room, his notepad in hand. Because you had another patient to tend to, you were unable to accompany Changbin. As you finish checking on your patient, Changbin exits the room.

“How’d it go?” you ask, walking up to him.

“He was hysterical,” Changbin explains, “started saying how he was part of this gang that made him drink and drive, but besides that, he was pretty compliant. The most confusing part is his record. It was clean, he’s never been affiliated with that gang, never has been in possession of alcohol, and not to mention, he’s an honor student who’s the president of his homeroom.”

“Why would someone with such a bright future ahead of him be in this sort of problem?” you asked. Changbin shrugged his shoulder.

“That’s what I’m thinking.” He checks his watch. “I have to go to the precinct, I’ll see you later.” Giving you a quick hug, Changbin goes to his car and drives away.

Heading back into the hospital, you walked up to Seungmin. “What school did your patient go to?”

A few minutes later, you were on the phone with the school. An hour later, you peered into the boy’s room before walking into it. “How are you feeling?” you asked.

“Better than the other guy,” he mutters, looking at his bruised hands.

You held up his backpack. “I heard you were a smart kid, so I brought your books here, in case you wanted to catch up on what you missed. Can’t be behind on anything, especially when you’re so close to taking your college entrance exam,” you smiled.

As soon as you place the backpack on the foot of his bed, he kicks it away. The sound of a laptop shattering echoed off the walls. “I don’t want it.” He crosses his arms, staring at the light blue walls.

“I’m afraid your laptop might be broken, I’ll pay for another one–”

“Don’t,” he says. “I’m never going to return to school anyways. I don’t belong in school, I don’t belong anywhere! I tried to find friends and look at what I’ve become! A murderer! What are my parents–no scratch that, what is the entire population of South Korea going to think? I’ll just go to prison and rot in here, it’ll be better than being shunned by my own people. Now, can you please leave me be?”

Grabbing the unwanted backpack, you slowly backed out of the room, placing the bag on the counter. Sighing, you leaned your head into your palms. “Sounds like it didn’t go right,” Hyunjin says, popping next to you.

“Tell me about it. Did you hear anything?”

He nods. “The kid was basically yelling, I think even the precinct heard it.”

“This whole situation is so odd. He doesn’t want to go to school despite being an honor student, so he joined a gang? This is like a story out of a k-drama,” you muttered.

“Well, he’s going to be handed over to the detectives once he fully recovers anyway. I’m sure they’ll figure it out there and after all that is over, you and Changbin–”

You put a hand to stop him. “We’re just friends.”

“‘Friends’,” Hyunjin air-quotes. He chuckles as you walk off, shaking your head to wear the red tint away from your cheeks.

12:23 pm – a few days later

You watched as Changbin’s team lead the boy away in handcuffs. Standing next to you, Changbin says, “Thanks for keeping him alive.”

“Just doing my job,” you shrugged. “Now it’s time for you to do yours.”

Smiling, Changbin was about to walk away before he stops in front of the sliding doors and steps back to face you. “I’ll be busy the next few days due to working on this case, but I was wondering if you’ll be free next Thursday? I would like to take you out.”

“Like on a date?” You raise your eyebrows, causing a red tint to light the usually stoic-faced detective’s cheeks.

“Yes, a date,” he confirms. “Unless you don’t–“

You chuckle at his flustered state. “I would love to go on a date with you.”

“Really?” You nod. “Great! Thanks!”

You watch as he walks out, a light bounce that hid in his steps. “He’s whipped,” Hyunjin says as he stands next to you.

“And so am I.”

8:49 pm – next Tuesday

You entered the last piece of information into the database before hitting save and logging out. Cracking your knuckles, you stifled a yawn. “I’m finally done. How many hours are left?”

Seungmin raises his watch. “Approximately 4 more hours.”

You groaned as you feel a hot cup of coffee in your hands. “I know,” Hyunjin mutters. “I can’t believe we got kicked to the night shift, like are you serious? Poor Jeongin can barely keep his eyes open.”

“Jeongin was the one that wanted to be on this shift.”

“In my defense,” the intern raises a hand, “I learned more with this team than any other teams.”

“You also heard more gossip,” you snort.

“And you’re basically watching the love story of y/n and Changbin unfold,” Hyunjin adds, making you choke on your coffee.

“G-get back to w-work,” you stutter as you walk away, the chorus of boys chuckling at you.

The flashing lights of the ambulance shine through the opaque glass and become bright once the paramedics raced in with gurneys. “Shooting involving 5 males; I have a 26-year-old male who was shot in the throat and left thigh.”

“Over here!” Jeongin yells as the gurney is pushed into his room.

More gurneys races through the doors as you wondered what could’ve led to this. At the very last gurney to appear, your heart stopped. “Changbin? Changbin?!” Panic arises when you see his bloodied collar shirt.

“He was shot multiple times in the chest and one in his left collarbone,” the paramedic announces. “Stats are low, CPR was performed in transit.”

Before you could walk up to Changbin, Jeongin pulls you away. “I need help with my patient,” he says as you watch Seungmin and Hyunjin lead Changbin into another room.

“Y-yeah, what do you need?” Heading over to Jeongin’s room, you catch sight of his patient, more importantly, the tattoo that rested on his neck. A gang tattoo. He must’ve been the one that shot Changbin. Stopping in your steps, thoughts raced through your head. Now you knew why some people acted against the Hippocratic Oath and you were now debating whether or not you were to uphold the oath, despite knowing that Changbin is the one he had injured.

“Dr. y/l/n?” Jeongin’s voice brings you back to reality. He leads you to his patient. “I need to intubate, but I can’t find the tube.”

“I got this,” you say as you take the equipment away from Jeongin. You took a deep breath, but that didn’t stop the shaking in your hands. Steadying yourself, you reassured yourself that Changbin would be okay and–“Is he flatlining?!”

You force yourself to not look up and chose to not hear the sound of a flatline in the other room. Shaking the thought away from your head, you focused on the patient again. Of course, you’ve dealt with many criminal patients in the past and patients whose opinion you did not agree with, but this time was different. You didn’t know why.

Clearing your head, you found focus and quickly intubated the man before handing him off to Jeongin. “Thank you, doctor,” you hear Jeongin say as you rush out of the room, only to be greeted with Changbin in a gurney.

“W-where are you t-taking h-him?” you ask frantically, grabbing the sides of the gurney. 

Hyunjin stops you as the gurney enters the elevator. “You guys go ahead,” he says as he rests his hands on your shoulder and leads you to the break room. The sounds of machines and doctors yelling were muted once you entered the room.

As soon as you felt the chair, your feet collapse and your head falls into your hands, hot tears running down your face. “He’ll be alright,” Hyunjin reassures, taking a seat on the edge of the table. “We were just bringing him up to get his chest x-ray. After that, he’ll be patched up and recover.”

The whimpering only grew louder as Hyunjin lays a comforting hand on your shoulder. “I saw what you did there with Jeongin’s patient. Putting aside your personal thoughts to help a patient, no matter how strong your feelings were. That was so strong of you, don’t lose that part of you.”

1:59 am – later that night

Hyunjin, Seungmin, and Jeongin had offered to stay with you as you waited for Changbin to wake up, but you waved them off. “You’ve done more than you had to today,” you had said as the boys reluctantly exit the hospital.

Falling into the plastic chair at the head of Changbin’s bed, you took his hand, running your thumb along the smooth skin. “Please wake up. You have to.”

As the night drags on, you found the quiet hum of the electric lights above to be soothing as it lulls you and before you knew it, you were asleep.

You woke up to the feeling of fingers running through your locks. Opening your eyes, you see Changbin’s endearing smile. “Good morning,” he greets as you stand and wrapped your arms around him.

“I was so scared I was going to lose you,” you whispered as Changbin leans his head into the crook of your neck.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” he chuckles, his laugh vibrating through your body. Pulling away from the hug, he shoots you another smile. “I promised a date with you and I am a man of my word.”

8:25 pm – three months later

“–so as I said, it gets a little crazy in here, especially when–”

“Excuse me.” Hyunjin turns around and is greeted by a stoic-faced detective. The two interns that Hyunjin was mentoring–Jisung and Minho–shudder in fear as they meet eyes with the serious detective, but Hyunjin only smiled.

“Hey man,” he greets, high-fiving Changbin as the two interns look in astonishment. “Guys, this is Changbin, our very own Romeo–”

“Haven’t I told you the ending of that story?” you say from behind him and pressed a kiss on Changbin’s cheek, shocking the interns even more.

“Yeah, but I choose to not listen,” Hyunjin admits. “Anyways, they’re like our Romeo and Juliet, minus the poison part. You’ll be seeing them a lot while you’re under my wing.”

As Hyunjin rambles on, you laced your fingers with Changbin’s. “How are you?”

Changbin smiles. “I managed to solve a five-year cold case and Felix offered me a donut in return for taking over his desk duties for a few hours.”

“And if it weren’t for me, these two would have gotten together!” Hyunjin hollers as you walked out of the sliding doors, hand in hand with Changbin.

“So what’s our snack stop today?” you ask.

Changbin thinks. “Hm, I’m craving something sweet.”

Stores racked through your head. “There’s a bakery down this block, they have some of the best sponge cakes I’ve ever had.”

He shakes his head. “Not that kind of sweet,” he chuckles.

You peer at him curiously. “What kind of sweet are you craving?”

Leaning down, Changbin presses a soft kiss on your lips, a faint trace of cherry lip balm lingering on his lips as he licks them. “This kind of sweet.”

–but two decided to test the waters and crossed the lines. what they found was the opposite of what they thought; hatred turned to love and shy glances turned into passionate kisses. and just like that, the once harsh line that separated them had become blurred.