Who:EVERYONE Thirteen doctor13, Claire Temple clairetemple, James Cole jamescole, Cassie Railly cassandrarailly What: Final Check-up Post-GSW When: Friday, May 15, midday Where: Lovelace Regional Hospital Rating: Audience Discretion is Advised Warnings: Language, discussion of wounds, cranky Scav, hateful dying doctor, matter-of-fact nurse, and general hospital stuff. Status: Closed/Completed GDoc
~*~
Patients were patients no matter where someone was treating them if they were doctors. Thirteen had been an internal medicine specialist for long enough to know every day was roughly going to involve many of the same things. She'd see a few perforated bowels, some impactions, a few issues related to IBS, possibly some knife wounds or a GSW, and, if it were a particularly busy night, she might even get an aneurysm. There weren't any real surprises in internal medicine after the first five years in practice.
Thirteen was older than she looked.
Five years had passed fast.
"Let's get these two in here and out. I have a feeling we'll both have a better day once we discharge our GSW virologist and her time traveler, don't you?"
She rolled her eyes at Claire Temple as she prepared to go into the exam room to clear the patient for light duty work. Cassandra Railly had been a touch-and-go case for her. She'd been a mess of a GSW upon admission. Thirteen had met her outside the sign to Hope Springs, bleeding everywhere with perforations in three places from the bullet fragmenting. It was a miracle the woman hadn't bled to death before she and the time traveler had gotten her over to Lovelace.
The fact the man fully expected her to believe he was a time traveler had stopped being a novelty when she'd had to deal with his attitude. James Cole was a headache and a half. He made demands, brandished a gun, and shouted in her face as if he had a right to do so simply because he came from a bad future. She thought he had a lot of nerve talking to her as if she didn't know what suffering was because she came from a past year to him.
Honestly, Thirteen figured they would have been able to treat Cassie better if she had sedated Cole from the onset.
"I'm about done with the time traveler, I know that. If he dares to pull that gun on me one more time, I'm dosing him with this syringe of Haldol and tossing him in the psychiatric ward. I don't care if he's psychotic. I only want a little payback for the annoyance he's caused."
Thirteen tried not to think about the patients he'd likely make even more psychotic if she did toss him in the psych ward. They were on meds. She'd been through the ward on her initial rounds at the hospital; it had surprised her to see they had a psych ward in Test City. What kind of things did the patients have to do to get admitted here? If this was a test environment, why were sick people being put into it with them? Was it to test their empathy? Their ability to care for those less fortunate?
She didn't have any more answers now than she'd had before. She only hoped after she discharged Cassandra Railly she'd have one less irritation to deal with on her rounds during her days. It was one thing to be bored on rounds. It was another thing to be bored, frustrated, and annoyed. Her life was too short to deal with that combination on a regular basis.
~*~
Claire was of much the same mind as Thirteen, a name she still couldn’t quite understand but accepted all the same. James Cole and Cassandra Railly were more trouble than they had any real right to be, and part of that was because of the circumstances. “She’s ready to get out of the hospital and he’s just a pain in the ass. Here’s hoping she actually sticks to the ‘light work’ and doesn’t land herself back in here. If I don’t see the pair of them for another couple of months, it’ll be too soon.” She sighed and finished off the last of her coffee before throwing the styrofoam cup into the trash bin next to her.
Paperwork was, as it had always been, the bane of her existence. It was important to track everything, and she did want to leave as much information as possible for whoever took over once her shift was done, but there just weren’t enough hours in the day. “I’ve just got paperwork left for the last half hour of my shift, provided shit doesn’t blow up in my face the way it has the past few times,” she muttered, more annoyed that her stack of paperwork kept growing, no matter what she did. She’d knock on wood if there was any in the hospital.
“Now that she’s not about to die, here’s hoping she’ll keep him somewhat reasonable and we’ll be in and out without a problem.” Claire didn’t necessarily buy that for a minute since Cole was obnoxious as hell and Reilly was probably pretty exhausted. The sooner they got in there, the sooner they could send the pair on their way. She grabbed the discharge papers from the printer, stuck them on a clipboard, and handed that off to Thirteen before grabbing a wheelchair so that they could head to Railly’s room. It wasn’t her job to take the patients to the door, ordinarily, but Claire wanted to make sure they actually left, and weren’t dawdling because they were waiting for an orderly to bring her down.
They walked into the room and Claire gave them both a warm, if tired, smile. “Ready to get out of here?” she asked Cassie, though she did glance at Cole.
~*~
"No. We want to stay here for the rest of our natural lives. Yes, we're ready to get out. It's about time you showed up. She's fine. She can stand up. Why're you wheeling her out like she's some invalid?"
Cole hated hospitals. They reminded him of the earliest days of the virus. All the people who had went in had never come out alive. They had been flooded with bodies until hospitals had stopped letting people in at all. Many placed had barricaded their doors to keep the sick out. Some doctors had been killed in riots. Cole knew they'd pulled the bodies out of one using heavy equipment; one had been set on fire with everyone and everything still in it because they had thought they could contain the plague if they took out what seemed to be a major source of it.
They'd been wrong.
Billions of dead bodies later, the survivors all knew about it, too.
He didn't trust the pretty doctor with her shaky hands. He didn't trust the pretty nurse with her tired eyes. He didn't trust anyone in the place. They were all liars as far as he was concerned. Cassie would be better off with him taking care of her than some medical type. What if they only wanted to pretend to fix her up? What if the drugs they were pumping into her through her veins were really poisons? What if they were trying to make her insane the way someone had driven Jennifer Goines out of her gourd?
No one could be trusted when the fate of the world's population was on the line.
No one.
Cole stepped between Cassie and the two women. He looked her over to see if her color was still good. She was stronger. They'd done enough to save her life. Would she have died without medical attention? Likely, the answer was yes, but Cole didn't know for certain. All he knew for certain was he wouldn't let anything happen to her again. He'd save her so she could save the world. Cole knew his priorities and Dr. Cassandra Railly was his top priority now.
"You think you can walk out? Just you and me? Or you want to go along with their dog-and-pony show? Up to you. They can't make you do shit. You got my word on that."
Cole dared either one of the women to say otherwise.
~*~
Cassie was grateful for the quick response that Doctor Hadley - she refused to refer to her as Thirteen - had provided. Without medical attention, she knew she would’ve died either back at the Splinter facility or on the ground in front of Hope Springs. She’d tried to keep her commentary and discomfort to a minimum, but it was sometimes hard because she would’ve done things differently than Doctor Hadley or Claire, her nurse. Cole was constantly questioning them, which made things difficult sometimes, and now Cassie was just tired. She wanted to go see this apartment Test City had given her, and explore the city for whatever dangers might be lurking between the streets.
Cole wanted to keep her safe, and she was touched by how much he cared and how much faith he had in her ability to save the world. It was just so exhausting trying to manage his lack of knowledge and trust in medicine, with her own knowledge and preferences, all on top of trying to rest and heal. She had a feeling both women would be happy to get them out of their hair, and Cassie would gladly leave with Cole with as little fuss as possible.
“Please-” she started, tired already with the attitude. Cassandra was at the end of her rope though, so she just stopped before she could get worked up over it. She glanced between both women and shook her head ever so slightly. It was a fight none of them particularly wanted to get into. It took some effort to get to her feet, but Cassie managed it and held onto the railing of the bed to keep her balance. “I can manage on my own,” she told all three of them, taking a few steps so that she was at Cole’s side, gripping his arm firmly for support.
“Is there anything I need to know, in terms of activity and follow ups?” Cassandra was asking more for the man at her side, and because it was polite. Whatever Doctor Hadley would recommend, Cassie was pretty sure she had a good idea of what it would be.
~*~
Wheelchairs for patients to leave the hospital in were a requirement of the facility, not something every doctor recommended. It was all about risk management, keeping the falls count down. Thirteen didn't care at all if the woman walked out on her own. She just wanted her to get out. The two of them were more of a pain in her ass than any five other patients had been. It was a relief to see Cassandra standing. She was wobbly, but not bad enough to make her concerned she'd faint on the way out. It helped they were in a small hospital.
"This place is one floor. It's not a huge stretch to imagine she could walk out of here on her own. She'll likely exhaust herself and then you're going to have to figure out how to get her to the apartments without tearing open her still-healing abdominal wound, but that's on you. I'm not responsible for your idiocy."
Too many years working for House had left her cold to the concerns of others. Thirteen didn't have any fucks left to give about either one of them. She cared about Claire. She cared about her reputation. The pair of supposed time travelers or whatever they were? They were on their own. It was up to them to make good decisions for themselves with their grown-up panties on. She wasn't mother to either of them nor would she pretend to be. It wasn't in her nature.
Looking at Claire, she asked, "Can you get a cab to meet them in front? I'll get signatures for you if you can arrange it. Have them bill it to me. I'll gladly pay to assist them out the door."
She said it proudly with no hesitation. Her pay wasn't what she'd made at Princeton-Plainsboro, but it was more than sufficient for her needs in Test City. Thirteen had never lived a lavish lifestyle; Gretel wasn't one to be impressed with money. They could fuck for hours on the shitty cots in the on-call rooms without either of them complaining. It wouldn't break her bank to send them packing in a cab. Hell, she'd hire a limo if it got them out the door.
~*~
Claire wasn’t the least bit surprised that James Cole continued to give them a great deal of trouble. The time traveler was so distrustful of everything they did, it was a wonder they’d been able to treat Railly as well as they had. That was likely due to the fact that she was helpful in distracting Cole when she wasn’t trying to tell them how to do their jobs. Doctors were the worst goddamn patients Claire had ever had to deal with.
She frowned at the decision to let Cassandra walk out under her own power, though before she could voice a counterargument, Thirteen was ready with an agreement and a solution, wrapped in the worst bedside manner Claire had ever witnessed. It made her lips twitch just slightly, fighting back a smile. The doctor had quickly become one of her preferred co-workers, since they generally had the same approach in terms of no-nonsense treatment. While Claire still couched her more harsh criticisms in polite terms, Thirteen had no problem sharing her opinions exactly as they were.
“You’re going to want to put your arm around her waist to support her weight better,” Claire pointed out to Cole. “And you,” she added, talking to Cassandra, “need to take it easy. Don’t overextend yourself or pull out your stitches. Pushing yourself now will only land you back here.” If Cassandra did end up back in the hospital, Claire was certain it would be because she pushed herself too far in order to stop Cole from worrying too much about her. She glanced between the two of them, and then to Thirteen before nodding.
“I’ll take care of it,” she said softly, before wheeling the chair out of the room and setting it off to the side. The Nurses’ station was only just down the hall, so Claire was able to pull up a phone number for the cab company to get a car ordered and payment handled.
~*~
Doctors in the year Cassie was from meant well. They were genuinely talking about taking care of her. Cole felt almost bad for giving them Hell. Almost. They felt bad because they were interested in one patient. They could afford to be interested in one patient. Cole expected them to treat Cassie better than she should be treated as only one patient, but she meant more to him than she ever would to either of them even if she was the only patient they ever had.
He listened to what they said only because they weren't trying to be dicks about taking care of Cassie. Cole wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her arm up and around his shoulders so she could cling to him with most of her weight. It would be easy to carry her in comparison to hauling around Ramse when he was in a bad way. That guy was the worst dead weight to carry. He knew exactly how to get his hands on Cole's throat to make him feel as if he were being strangling while hauling his ass around.
Casting his glance down to the floor, Cole murmured, "Thanks for taking care of her. Thanks. For the car. For putting up with me. All of it. Sorry. Things are just harder than---"
Harder than what?
Saving lives all day? Walking constantly to check on every patient in the place to make sure they were still breathing? Dealing with assholes the likes of him when they were only trying to do their jobs?
Cole shut up because sometimes it was easier to be quiet than to try to make the words come out right. He wasn't the guy who had the words. He was the guy who could hit like a train when he had to and pull the trigger every time it was necessary. Project Splinter needed him because of Cassie they said, but really? Cole thought they needed him because he was the only one fucked up enough to kill, kill, kill until he got the results they needed to save the world.
~*~
Cassie didn’t appreciate Doctor Hadley’s criticisms, even though they were perfectly well founded. She was putting herself at risk, not taking the wheelchair to the door or even thinking about how they were going to get to the apartments once they got out the door. The shift in position had certainly helped ease the weight and strain off her stitches, so while one arm went over his shoulder, her other hand landed on his chest, just to help her keep her balance while they were standing. What she didn’t like was how their words made him feel like he had to apologize, when he had only been looking out for her when she hadn’t been able to do so herself.
“It’s okay,” she murmured to Cole, not wanting him to feel like he’d been inadequate. Sure, it had been difficult at times, but he cared about her and she absolutely cared about him. Cassie turned her gaze on Doctor Hadley, disapproval written all over her face.
“I am fully aware that I haven’t been the easiest patient to deal with, but that is no excuse for you to speak to us like that. You could learn a thing or two from Claire, who at least has the decency to not be outright rude.” Doctor Hadley’s attitude had all but guaranteed that Cassandra would do just about everything to make sure that she didn’t end back up in that woman’s care. She glanced at the clipboard in the doctor’s hand and stepped forward, trusting Cole to move with her.
“I’ll sign those papers and we’ll be out of your hair, Doctor Hadley.” Sure, Cassie could admit that she was being snippy, but she hated when anyone treated Cole rudely. She held her hand out for clipboard so that she could shift around and sign so that they could get out of the hospital.
~*~
Lover, Thirteen decided. She'd been trying to figure out what the relationship was between the strange man who claimed to be a time traveler and the woman who was anything other than his type. It was hard because they obviously weren't family yet he treated her the way a man would treat a sister or a child. There wasn't anything sexual in his treatment of her; he'd never touched her in any way which led her to believe he was getting into her pants regularly.
It was the way Railly looked at him, leaned into him, held onto him, which gave it away.
She was either sleeping with him regularly or would be soon enough from the way she treated him. Railly wasn't ever looking at him as if he were a brother or a son. There was more of a gentleness to her when she was considering him than when she was doing anything else. It was as if she knew his pain in a way no one else did yet wouldn't betray his trust by making allusions to it all the same. Thirteen could guarantee if she hadn't offered herself to him before this hospital trip?
It wouldn't be long until she did.
"No sex until the sutures come out."
Thirteen didn't give a rat's ass if the woman thought she was rude. She didn't acknowledge the comment at all. She just channeled House and gave her coldest smile before giving them a parting nod to let Claire come back into the room with the rest of the discharge materials. They had their paperwork to meet the hospital's requirements. Everything else was on the pair of them. Thirteen and Claire were in the clear.
"Claire, we've got our paperwork. They're just waiting on confirmation they've got a ride. Thanks so much."
She left out to do the rest of her rounds. She didn't have time to play make-nice with either of them.
~*~
Claire was pretty fucking sure she was going to need to have a talk with Thirteen about the appropriate time to piss off patients, namely to not do it before handing them off to her. She liked the doc, but not so much that she was going to put up with that shit more than once. In her hand was a post-it, the details of the cab written down even though it was probably pointless. It wasn’t like there were a lot of cabs hanging out in front of the hospital, after all.
“And on that note,” she muttered to herself, mentally flipping off Thirteen, she turned her attention back to Cole and Railly, hoping to defuse the situation before either one of them could get any more indignant about their treatment. No sense in getting into another fight when they were leaving. “I apologize on Doctor Hadley’s behalf,” Claire said, genuine in that, at least. “I’ve called your cab and it should be out front by the time you get there.” No need to mention she’d be a few steps behind, ready to help if need be. She had a feeling Railly knew that would be the case.
She turned her attention to Cole. “Take care,” Claire advised seriously, the look she gave him communicated that she meant he needed to take care of Cassandra. She wasn’t entirely sure the other woman would respect light activity, given that she was a CDC Virologist. The CDC were efficient as fuck and usually not prone to taking it easy. “The cab’s been paid for, including the tip. You don’t need to do anything once he drops you off at Copperstone.”
Claire offered a smile as she stepped out of the way, busying herself with an information cart by the door to give the pair of them time to continue on and get out of the hospital.
~*~
"It's not a big deal. No apologies necessary. I'm a pain in the ass on my best days."
Cole hadn't gotten any best days since showing up in Test City. All his days had been spent playing at being a Scav in a foreign place while hoping Cassie wouldn't die. His dreams were all nightmares of the world never changing, everyone dying over and over again. Ramse was another worry weighing heavily on his mind. His grip on Cassie was hard, tight and fast as he moved painfully slowly toward the front of the hospital with her. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her.
No matter what the doctor might think, Cole really didn't want to hurt Cassie. He'd die for her. She was worth so much more than him. Her life was the one which would change the course of the world, not his. Cole was a means to an end. He'd die in the process of trying to stop the virus from being unleashed. He knew it and Jones sure as Hell knew it. She'd known it when she'd put him in the machine the very first time. Some guys would have gotten pissed about finding out they were canon fodder. Cole had only respected Jones more for it because it was the way of their world: everything died, better to make sure the right one died first.
He didn't care what the nurse thought really. It was nice of her to say she was sorry for the doctor. Cole thought it was stupid, but nice. Why would anyone apologize for someone else? What was the point of that? It was a lot of bullshit in his opinion. Everyone's opinion was stupid though so what did it matter? Cole figured at least she'd been nice.
People weren't usually nice to him.
Whispering in Cassie's ear, he asked her, "You sure about walking to the front? I'll let them wheel you out if you want. I don't want to hurt you."
~*~
Cassie was very ready to give Doctor Hadley a piece of her mind, flustered and embarrassed as she was at the suggestion of her and Cole having sex. It would’ve been a lie to say that she hadn’t thought of it, or to say that she wasn’t attracted to him, but that just wasn’t how their relationship worked. He’d nearly died because of Splintering, and then she’d nearly died because of a gunshot wound. Cassie had no idea how things ended up back home, but she was grateful to have Cole by her side. She’d been terrified on that platform, so scared that she’d never see him again and that she’d end up dead and unable to stop the virus.
“Thank you,” she mouthed to Claire, looking over Cole’s shoulder. She knew the nurse would be only a few steps behind to make sure that she was okay. Cassie appreciated it, but she was also determined to make it to the cab under her own power. It felt good to be up and walking again, even though she hurt like hell. Pain meant she was alive though, and she would take that over dying any day.
“I’m okay. I can make it,” Cassie promised him softly, tightening her grip on him. She knew they were walking too slowly for him, but she couldn’t - wouldn’t - force herself to go any faster. If she did, she’d only hurt herself and that would get them back under Doctor Hadley’s care. Cassie really did not want to see that woman again any time soon.
It was slow going, at least ten minutes for them to walk to the front door, but the cab was there and she managed the last couple of steps. Cassie sunk into her seat, grateful for the support, and after Cole slid in on her other side, she rested her head on his shoulder. God, that had been exhausting.
“Wake me up when we get there,” she murmured, already dozing. Cole meant safety. He would always keep her safe. Cassie truly believed that. “Thank you.”