"She should be back by now," Raven muttered, continuing to shake her leg repeatedly as her impatience grew.
Abby had promised Raven she'd be back for lunch after missing dinner due to an emergency in medical. Raven reluctantly accepted, knowing there wasn't much Raven or Abby could do about the situation at this point, and instead resolved to keep herself occupied by tinkering with some old appliances they had gathered in the garage. But after sleeping in the following morning, completing her PT exercises, and finishing her rounds around camp, all Raven could think about was when Abby was getting back. As the minutes passed, so too did Raven's patience and by twenty after one, she had had enough.
It wouldn't have been the first time Abby had become so consumed in her work that she had lost track of time entirely. In fact, if it weren't for Jackson being with Abby most of the time and urging her to take her break, no one except the patients on the Ark would probably ever get to see her. But today, Raven knew, was different as Jackson left medical only a few hours after Raven said goodbye to Abby for the night after completing a forty-eight hour shift. Abby was left to her own devices, so Raven took it upon herself to step in.
"Woah, what's the rush? You look like you just found a new formula for an improved nuke." Wick jogged a few steps to catch up with Raven, laughing at her determined walk.
Raven didn't stop, but instead continued on her path towards medical. "Shut up, Wick."
"Wait, was I right? Because if you did, I-"
"Abby was supposed to be back two hours ago. I'm going to medical to get her out of there before she starts sleep-walking through an operation."
Raven quickened her pace, hoping to leave Wick behind. "Alright, fine, but watch yourself though. You don't want to trip and split something open. Then Abby will be stitching you up in her sleep."
"Ha, funny."
"Bye, Raven."
Raven turned the corner a little too quickly, causing her to stumble into the doorframe of medical. After taking a moment to catch her breath, she walked in, scanning the room for a frantic woman bedside of one of the patients. No luck. She began walking around the ward, tempted to call out Abby's name, and she would have too if it weren't for the patients who were sleeping.
"She has to be here some-"
And that's when Raven found her, slumped over a cold, metal table with one arm tucked under her head for support. She looked exhausted, surrounded by patient files and still dressed in her used lab coat. It was Raven's guess that Abby hadn't meant to fall asleep there, but instead had passed out from pure exhaustion while trying to get that last piece of paperwork done. Despite the fatigue Abby wore, she looked almost peaceful, and Raven was half-tempted to just leave her that way. But after spending three straight days working practically non-stop, Raven knew that a cold metal bench wasn't what Abby needed right now. She needed a warm bed and quality sleep. The only problem was, in order to get her there, Raven would have to wake her up.
Raven gently placed a hand on Abby's shoulder, shaking her lightly to try and rouse her. "Abby, wake up. Come on."
Abby fluttered her eyes, slowly coming to and realizing where she was. "Ugh," she moaned, placing her hands over her eyes. "I totally fell asleep in the middle of this. I still have to-"
"Sleep, Abby. You need to sleep. You can get the rest of this done later," Raven finished, looking Abby almost sternly in the eyes to let her know she was serious. "Come on, let's get you to bed. Your back is going to be all sorts of problems if you stay here."
"Fine," Abby submitted. "As long as you'll stop nagging me. You have to promise to wake me up in two hours though. I really need to get this done."
"No, you're getting a full eight hours in."
Raven and Abby proceeded out of medical, but not before Abby woke Jackson from his cot to let him know she was leaving.
"Raven, that all needs to be taken care of by the end of the day. I can't just put it off because I'm tired."
"Six hours."
"Three."
"Four."
"Fine. But you have to promise you'll wake me up."
They walked into their room, Raven pulling back the blankets of their bed as Abby crawled in. Raven smirked. "You don't trust me?"
"Raven."
"What?" she asked innocently, smiling as Abby's expression turned serious.
"You're enjoying this too much."
"What?"
"Nagging me about my health."
"Hey, you're on me all the time about how I need to be taking care of myself. But sometimes the doctor needs a little reminding too."
Raven bent down to kiss the top of Abby's head before pulling the covers back over her.
"Goodnight, Raven," was all Abby said before turning over under the sheets and closing her eyes.
Raven grabbed a book and her now cold chicken and potatoes off the side table before climbing into bed, pulling Abby in a little closer, and she smiled. It may not have been the day she had planned, but it was the one they both needed. "Goodnight, Abby."