sam walker's tears cure cancer. he never cries. (bullet_wound) wrote in musingslogs, @ 2011-02-22 16:08:00 |
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Entry tags: | howl, watson |
Who: Sam and Dot
What: Sam meets the neighbors and tries to adopt a teenage girl
Where: Bathos, 7th floor
When: This morning
Warnings: For only ten cents a day, you too can improve the life of your neighbor.
Dot was supposed to be pulling an all-nighter to finish the write-up for an over-due chem lab with her lab partner, over Skype. But Sarah had fallen asleep at around three in the morning, which was three hours ago, and Dot was now blasting New Politics from her laptop to keep herself awake until her lab partner woke up. She was a little bit sleep deprived, to say the least, and there were papers strewn over every flat surface in te apartment. The well-being of her neighbours was not the first thing on her mind as she sang along loudly to the lyrics.
Sam was tired. Very, very tired. Three nights in a row of all-nighters at work had left him utterly exhausted and in a severe need of a day off. Or at least a full night’s sleep. He plodded out of the elevator, still in his scrubs, clutching his messenger bag to his chest. Even from the elevators, he could hear music blaring from down the hall. He paused in mid-stride and closed his eyes, exhaling loudly through his nose. No. This was not happening. It was six in the morning and Sam just wanted to collapse into bed. Which couldn’t be done with a damn garage band playing just down the hall.
He followed the music, dragging his feet. Stopping front of 702, he glared daggers at the numbers for a few heartbeats before slamming his fist against it loudly, three times.
The first knock snapped Dot from her trans-like state and she scrambled to pause her music, just now realizing that it was probably one of her neighbours coming to yell at her. As she tripped across various papers and other obstacles, she heard two more knocks following the first one. Clearly, whoever was at her door was not pleased. Finally at the door, she took a breathe to prepare herself before she pulled it open.
On the other side of the door was a man she most certainly didn’t recognize, and she pursed her lips as she addressed him, “Can I help you?” Her hair was piled in a messy bun on top of her head and she was dressed in nothing but a large University of Washington sweatshirt and a pair of pajama shorts. Clearly she had no plans of leaving the apartment today.
The door opened revealing a teenage girl and Sam momentarily gaped. He hadn’t know who he had been expecting, but a teenage girl was not one of them. He didn’t like to put labels on things, but she didn’t seem like the type who would be up at six in the morning. He blinked wearily and ran a hand messily through his hair. It was surely sticking up at odd angles now, but he didn’t care.
“Your music is really loud,” It sounded stupid to him even in his sleep-addled state. He frowned and leaned forward on the balls of his feet. “Are your...are your parents home?”
Dot shrugged at the first comment, it was off now and she didn’t plan on starting it again the moment he left, or anything like that. But she frowned at the second comment. She contemplated just shaking her head but if he had moved in near her, he’d probably find out sooner or later.
“No, they don’t live here,” Still not the whole truth, but the whole truth was complicated and she doubted this stranger wanted to hear her life story. That of course, was assuming that she was willing to tell him in the first place, which she was not.
Sam wrinkled his nose in confusion and disbelief. He adjusted his messenger bag on his shoulder, let out a laugh. “There’s no way you’re living here alone. You’re like, twelve.” He coughed, aware of how unbelievably rude that sounded. He took a step back in case she intended to slam the door in his face.
“I’m sorry. That was....I’m very tired.” He cleared his throat and attempted to start again. “Hi. I’m Sam. I live two doors down. Thank you for turning your music off?”
Dot narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest defensively. She was not twelve and she didn’t appreciate being told that she looked like she was. Sure she was small, but she wasn’t that small and besides, that was never something you should say to anyone’s face.
She was fully prepared to tell him exactly that, but he spoke again before she could open her mouth. The apology was enough to keep Dot from just turning on her heel and leaving her new neighbour standing alone in the hall, but the look on her face was still less than pleased.
The thanks stopped Dot from grinding her teeth together in passive-aggressive annoyance. “Oh, well, I’m sorry for having it so loud. I’m supposed to be staying awake to finish a paper,” She explained, letting more information slip out than she usually would, out of exhaustion, “Did you just move in recently?”
She looked annoyed and rightfully so. Sam had just insinuated that she looked like a small child. Still, his quick apology and then brief introduction seemed to placate her, if only a little bit. He was thankful for small favors. The last thing he needed to do was piss off one of his neighbors. She could start stealing his newspaper or something. She shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His shoulder and hip were aching, as they often started to do after long nights on his feet. However, he wasn’t one to take breaks, even if he probably could have pulled the disability card. Sam Walker wasn’t one to take the easy way out. Besides, then he’d have to spin some bullshit about how he came upon his injuries in the first place.
“Yeah, a couple months ago,” he glanced down the hall toward his own door. “I work most nights, as you can tell. Doesn’t leave a lot of time for socializing.”
Dot nodded slowly, noticing the way the man shifted from foot to foot. She wasn’t one to proactively meet her neighbours either; Cora had hand delivered a Christmas card, Bly had literally run into her in the lobby, and Jess had needed her pain medication during the not-zombie almost-apocalypse. She didn’t really know much about anyone else in the building, but she recognized a few faces in passing.
“You work at a hospital?” Dot zoned in on the scrubs and was suddenly just a little bit more interested. She still didn’t have a major, but ever since the incident with Hal, she’d been toying with the idea of working in the medical field, secretly. Saving lives felt genuinely good, and she could do with more of that in her life.
She zeroed in on his clothing and Sam momentarily regretted not changing after work, but mentally shrugged it off. People treated you differently when you walked around in your scrubs. Sometimes he was asked for medical advice. Other times he was avoided like the plague, which Sam supposed was reasonable. He could be carrying all kinds of bacteria on his clothing. He grinned somewhat sheepishly and palmed the back of his neck.
“Yeah, I’m a nurse.” In college, he had found it difficult to actively say his major aloud. It wasn’t that he was ashamed. He wasn’t. Sam loved his work and if he were being honest, he felt like he did more work that the doctors sometimes. It was the nurses who dealt with the patients, who made sure that they were comfortable. “It’s rewarding in every aspect of my life except sleep. And friends who want to see me in the daylight.” He was tempted to ask her what her paper was about, but the thought that he was coming across as a creepy older man occurred to him.
“Nurse,” Dot pondered the idea for a second, she could maybe see herself as a nurse. Maybe someone who worked in the operating or emergency rooms. She gave him a small smile as he talked about how rewarding it was. The feeling was certainly something that she had experienced and loved. Doctors were not the only people who saved lives, she understood that and wouldn’t question his choices.
“It's worth it though, right?” Her voice had a small tinge of hope in it and it surprised even herself. It must be the lack of sleep, she told herself and quickly tried to find something else to say, “So um. I’m Dottie, by the way, I go to U-Dub. It’s nice to meet you.”
Her interest pleased him. It wasn’t the most common reaction. No, the most common reaction was A nurse? parroted back at him like Sam was supposed to say, No, actually I’m an astrophysicist. Thanks for correcting me. It wasn’t his gender, although that was certainly an issue. Male nurses were always receiving the short end of the stick for having a profession typically seen as one belonging to a woman.No, the problem people seemed to really have was often presented in the question that immediately followed a nurse? and that was Why aren’t you a doctor?
The hopeful tone in her voice was nice to hear. At least some people weren’t so judgemental. He gave her a small smile, “I wouldn’t change anything,” He paused. “Well, okay maybe a little more pay, but who couldn’t use a little more money?”
Money, another subject that she preferred not to discuss. Dot was caught by surprise, she didn’t think that this topic would turn up in conversation quite so early in her day. Her eyes widened for a split second before she composed herself with a simple smile and nod. The hop through the portal from Musings to Humanity wasn’t as simple or smooth for her as it had been for some other people and the roll-up cash part was definitely hard to explain.
“That’s true,” She nodded again, but she sounded distracted. She began to chew on her bottom lip unconsciously as she mentally debated whether or not to ask about what the schooling had been like. She didn’t want to seem too eager.
“Was it something you were thinking about?” Sam asked with a little more eagerness than he originally intended. If he were more alert, he would probably go into his speech about nursing shortages and how they were in such high demand and blahblahblah. Instead, he waited patiently, curious about the way she was chewing her bottom lip, like she wanted to say something, but couldn’t bring herself to.
“Maybe, or something like that, at least,” That was not something she had said aloud to anyone yet, she blamed her sudden confession on the sleep deprivation. But she’d been considering for a few weeks now and this guy was a professional, she figured that it couldn’t hurt her.
Sam leaned forward again, peering over her shoulder into her apartment. He really couldn’t get over the idea of this girl living alone in apartment. He didn’t think that she was some kind of animal that couldn’t feed herself, but it was still distressing nevertheless. She was certainly younger than he was and she looked just barely out of high school, if she was at all. “You really don’t live here alone, do you?” He raised his eyebrows in worry and then added hastily, “Not that you don’t seem capable of taking care of yourself.”
Dot watched as he not so stealthily looked into her apartment and an amused look crossed her face. It was obvious that Sam hadn’t been around here for long, there were tons of kids her age living in these buildings and it was a wonder that she was the first one he’d met. “I really do,” She opened her door wider to show him her incredibly messy apartment with no one else in it, “I’ve only been here since the summer, but I think I’m doing fine, on my own.” It went without saying that a university student’s version of “fine” was certainly not the same as a nurse’s.
Sam frowned and opened his bag, rustling through various papers and folders. He pulled out a spiral notebook and a pen. Flipping through a series of scribblings, he came to a blank page and scrawled a number on it before tearing out the page itself. He slid the notebook and pen back into his bag, adjusting it on his shoulder.
“Here,” he said, holding out the page to Dot. “My number. I’m sure you’re fine, but in case you, you know, need anything.” He grinned. “I’m a nurse. It’s in my nature to worry.”
Dot took the ripped page, reluctantly. She didn’t need to be looked after like a small child, but she didn’t mind having someone in case she did need something. “Thanks,” She managed a small, genuine smile, “I’ll text you my number. And I’ll definitely call if I need anything.” It felt like she had been accumulating people who wanted to spend time with her or look after her, in the short time she’d been here. It was strange, she prided herself on her independence but still ended up being looked after. If she was being honest though, it felt kind of nice to be able to depend on people again. Even if she had to keep reminding herself that not everyone was like her sister.
“Good,” replied Sam. “Because like I said, I’m just two doors down.” He covered a yawn with the palm of his hand and glanced down the hall in the direction of his own apartment. Thoughts of his bed swirled in his mind. “Speaking of which, I’m going to get some sleep,” He began to back away, heading toward his door. “So, good morning.”