Okay, so this chapter kind of sucks, but I've got a lot planned and the next one is better, I swear. This is just kind of a lame introduction. There will be lots of Lone Wanderer/Butch soon! So stay tuned! Also, this starts out really light hearted, but gets a lot more serious closer to the end. Rated M for swearing, sexual content, and violence.
She wished that she had just taken the GOAT like everyone else. Part of her didn't think she was cut out for medical work. Her father had been having her study medicine extensively, but now that she was in the clinic and seeing everything in vivid color, she felt queasy. She'd managed to put up with a little blood and a few injuries here and there, but as the day went on, everything seemed to weigh on her.
"It's okay, honey." Her father placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "No one sane is ever comfortable around people in pain."
She nodded absently, wrapping the purple bruise around the frail old woman's fingers. Too bad broken fingers weren't an easy fix. Especially since their vault didn't come with an auto-doc.
"Thank you dear," The old woman mumbled through the haze her pain killers caused.
Halune nodded, a nervous smile pressed into her lips.
There was a loud scraping from the door and a shout. "Coming through!" The voice belonged to Freddy Gomez.
Halune spun around as she saw Freddie leading Butch through the doorway. He had a towel wrapped around his hand and was swearing in pain.
"What happened?" Her father inquired, striding forward and reaching for Butch's hand.
"Dumbass managed to stab himself with a pair of scissors while cutting hair," Freddie explained breathlessly.
In any other circumstance, she would have laughed. But as soon as the towel was removed and she saw all that blood… Her head spun and she felt the floor rush up to meet her.
She woke up on a hospital bed to the sound of Jonah and her father talking. She blinked rapidly and sat up slowly.
"You alright?" Jonah asked when he noticed her.
"Yeah," There was a faint taste of copper in her mouth. "What…?"
"You fainted Nosebleed," Butch scoffed, in an unusually bad mood. More so than usual. "What kind of doctor are you going to be if you pass out like that at the sight of a little blood?"
She glared and eyed the bandage that James was securing around his hand.
Swinging her feet over the bed, she took the water that Jonah handed her and gulped it down thankfully.
"You just fainted, so there's nothing wrong with you and you'll be fine," James remarked, a soft smile on his face.
"I think you'd be better at cleaning duty or somethin' else cuz this obviously ain't it for you. Instead of getting treated right away, I had to wait for them to pick your scrawny ass off the floor " The glare Butch shot her way indicated he was putting as much blame on her as possible.
Her father gave him an intense stare for attacking his daughter, which Butch pointedly ignored.
Rolling her eyes, she stood up but started when she heard someone call out her name.
She turned to see Amata.
"Can I go, dad?"
He sighed and shook his head in response but she just grinned, waving good bye to Jonah and resisting the urge to flip off their newest patient.
She told Amata what had happened earlier and Amata patted her back reassuringly. "It'll be okay," She promised. "It was your first day."
"Except I've been training ever since we were kids." Halune scrunched her nose at this thought.
Amata offered a small smile, rolling over and stuffing her pillow under her chest to prop her up. "Let's just forget about it. The Halloween party's coming up. What are you going to be?"
Halune pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I'm not sure."
The other girl didn't miss a beat. "I'm going as a pirate. I love the leather and the mischief."
Suddenly everything clicked into place. "I want to go as a Tunnel Snake." Her expression warped into a wide, toothy grin.
Amata gaped. "Why?"
"Because it means I get to take Butch's precious jacket before the party."
"He's going to kill you."
"I know." She smirked anyway.
Okay! I'm going to post the next chapter right now! Lots of Butch! Whoohoo!