Disclaimer: Ivy and Soul Calibur are property of Namco. I do however own anyone who is a Myong, Kim, Kang, Hong, Hyeong, Mitarai, or Lin; and the story itself.

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Vivian Myong's hair was in her face again. Irritatedly, she pushed the raven tresses behind her right ear, only to have them spring back in front of her eyes. She sighed, made a mental note to get a cut on the weekend, and studied the chart in front of her.

She was startled from her work by a combination of screeching wheels and shouting voices. She looked up from behind the triage desk.

Whomever they were wheeling in had a noticeable lack of a left foot. Unable to clearly distinguish words from one another ('That coffee's not working fast enough,'), she watched as the loud, bloodied procession continued down a corridor to the first set of trauma rooms. A little taken off guard by such an injury at only 9 AM, she ducked her head back under her newfound trench.

She stifled a yawn, lamenting her decision to watch the end of the Korean soap opera on TV. She hadn't meant to get hooked on it, it was more of a time-consumer really. Yet like any foul weed allowed to take root in a garden, it spread and took over.

'It's not all that bad, technically it is related to my own life,' She reasoned, thinking of the show's female protagonist. 'So what if it's set in the 16th century, and she's the head physician to the emperor? If Copeland had his way, he'd be emperor too.' She looked over at the department head, who sat contentedly with a cup of coffee.

Speaking of which...

She also lamented making her coffee a little weaker, after noticing her hands twitching while she was idle.

'Awareness is worth scaring a few people,' The intern decided as she pushed her chair back. Clutching the chart to her chest, she walked briskly toward exam room one.

'And exhaustion is worth watching Dae Jang Geum.'

A spark, that's all it was at first. Barely a flicker across the synapse. Muscles twitched involuntarily, then stilled. A moment later, another hardly significant wave of feeling. Gradually, the consciousness waded up through the layers of unconsciousness and began to tread water at the surface of the sedated mind. Awareness began the difficult task of rising above the clouded abstractions of the unconscious brain, finally making a major breakthrough across the expanse.

Warmth.

The sensation of warmth slowly felt it's way along the entire body, making muscles fire and circulation increase to all appendages; shallow breathing was replaced with deep, meaningful inhalations. Muscles fired and relaxed, sending new sensations through the body's network to the awakening mind: Pain, and bruising spread out over a fair bit of both the lower and upper halves. Nerve endings activated and detected the presence of a warm blanket, and something attached to the back of the left hand. A set of sapphires fluttered open, and peered at the strange device through a veil of platinum hair.

"You're not going to try to tear that out again, are you?" Came a tired sounding voice. The pair of eyes searched the room for the source of the sound, finally resting on an Asian woman standing near the door. The young woman moved forward until she stood over the occupied bed. "I'm Dr. Myong, do you know where you are?"

The set of ice eyes now focused on a sort of badge pinned to the doctor's white coat. A small but clearly visible picture of the Asian woman was situated next to the text 'Myong, Vivian'. Aware enough now was the person that they began to feel the first pangs of a headache. Automatically a hand went to massage the temple.

"Do you have a headache?" Vivian asked. Not quite awake enough to force speech, the incapacitated patient nodded. Vivian moved over to a cabinet by the door and began searching a cupboard. She found what she was looking for and moved back over to her case. A standard size syringe was positioned between her thumb and first two fingers, cleaning swabs between the other two.

"This will take the pain away. It's also a stimulant." She explained, positioning herself next to her patient. She watched her subject shift uncomfortably. "It's only going to sting for a moment." She made her voice softer, more reassuring. "I need you to turn over, alright?" Her patient complied and turned away from Vivian, allowing her access to the preferred injection site. Vivian tore open one of the alcohol swabs and cleaned a small patch of skin just to the left of the bottom vertebra. The cold swab made the patient shiver.

Vivian laid her left hand on the patient's curved hip, pressing her thumb just beside the cleaned site. She positioned the needle on the spot.

"Can you tell me your name?" Vivian asked as she pushed the needle into the soft flesh.

The patient winced a tiny bit, but managed to find a response.

"Ivy," A voice with a British timbre replied. Vivian removed the now empty syringe and took it back to the cabinet. She placed it in a sharp box.

"That's a pretty name." Vivian remarked as she threw out the used alcohol swabs.

"What's your's?" Ivy asked out of politeness, though she already knew the answer.

"You can call me Vivian or Dr. Myong, whichever one you prefer." Vivian stood over Ivy's bed again. "I'm done; you can relax now." Ivy returned to her back. She looked up at the Asian woman. "I need to ask you some questions now, is that alright?" Vivian asked in that soft tone again. Ivy nodded. Vivian paused for a breath, then continued.

"Do you know where you are?" She asked.

"I'm going to assume this is a hospital," Ivy stated.

"Correct. What city is this?"

Ivy stopped for a moment. Where was she? She must've taken too long, because Vivian proceeded right onto her next question.

"How old are you?"

"32." Ivy sighed relief, at least some of these were easy.

"Do you know how you got here?"

Ivy paused again. She racked her brain, but had no recollection of anything before meeting Dr. Myong.

"...No."

Vivian was visibly perturbed by Ivy's answer. She waited a long time before asking her next question with dread:

"Do you know what happened to you?"

Ivy froze.

"W-what?"

Vivian glanced at the clock above the door. "About three hours ago someone contacted an ambulance. You were found face down in the snow." Ivy was already becoming nervous, and she could tell that Dr. Myong wasn't done yet. "Your clothing was also torn in several places, including between your legs." Vivian stopped for another breath. Ivy winced again as she imagined what the doctor was going to say next. "We suspect you've been raped."

Ivy flinched as the weight of those words sunk in fully.

"I-I see," She stammered weakly.

"We'd like your permission to do a sexual assault kit, to see if there's anything we can match to a suspect." Vivian said, her voice firm yet supportive.

"Sexual assault kit?" Ivy asked for clarification.

"It's basically just some swabs and physical examinations. If there's anything that can help us find the attacker, we'd like to have it." Ivy shifted under the intern's words.

"Who is going to...?" She couldn't finish.

"A nurse is going to take care of it, and then she'll inform me of the results." Vivian reached over and put her hand on top of Ivy's hand, avoiding crushing the IV line. She gave it a light squeeze. A click of the door handle drew her attention away from her patient.

"Dr. Myong?" A somewhat timid voice said. Vivian withdrew her hand and stood, looking at the door.

"Yes?" The answer sounded more like a statement than a question. The door opened enough to permit access for another young woman with a skin tone that betrayed southeast Asian roots. "Ah, Ms. Lakhani. I'll leave you to your work." She said as she pushed the chair back to it's original spot, holding the chart in one hand. She turned to face Ivy, whose eyes flashed with confusion and apprehension.

"She's here to do the exam," Vivian explained. Ivy's expression remained unchanged. Feeling the anxiety radiate from her patient, she tried her best to look compassionate. "I'll see you in a while, 'kay?" She softened her voice. It worked rather well, for Ivy visibly relaxed as soon as she spoke. Vivian gave a small smile, then turned to the nurse. "I'd like the results in my hands as soon as you have them," She said in a voice befitting an ER physician. The nurse nodded, then walked over to Ivy's bed. Vivian swept out of the room.

"Alright," The nurse started in a friendly voice. She pushed down the metal guardrails on either side of Ivy. "What's your name?" She said, trying to relax the nervous woman in front of her.

"Ivy," Ivy said, her voice hiding her emotions.

"Hi Ivy, my name's Soneera. I'm here to complete some examinations for Dr. Myong. Has she explained what this is for?" She spoke calmly as she walked around the bed, moving various things. She moved to the top of Ivy's blanket and pulled it back slightly.

"Yes," Ivy's voice hid nothing this time.

"Ok. I'm going to tell you what I'm doing as I work, just so you know what's going on. I realize this isn't the most comfortable feeling in the universe." She pulled the blanket down gently, just past Ivy's ankles. Ivy shivered involuntarily. She closed her eyes, blocking out the sensation of gloved hands on her legs.

"Alright. First off, I'd like you to take a deep breath and relax..."

"Onara onara aju ona, Gadara Gadara aju gana," Vivian murmured, walking down the hallway towards the washroom. The ER was oddly quiet, considering it was both Tuesday and a full moon.

'Not that I'm complaining,' She mused, stifling a yawn and looking at her watch. '2 PM.' She yawned again. 'Damn, it's a good thing I'm not on call this week.' She pushed open the washroom door with her shoulder.

"Nanari daryeodo mot nonani, Aniri aniri ani none..."

'I have really got to stop watching that show.'

Vivian stifled what had to be her thousandth yawn of the day at exactly 6:30. Brian Copeland, the department head/self-appointed emperor was relaying to her information of some sort about a patient, in his typical slightly self-inflating manner.

'The coffee's going back up to regular strength tomorrow,' She vowed silently, trying to pay attention to her superior's speech.

"... She's in exam room one, I saw to that right away. I take it you saw her?" Vivian became aware that the man had asked a question.

'Exam room one... oh, he means Ivy.' "Yes, at about nine this morning. She complained of a headache so I gave her a subcutaneous injection of Tiparol, and Soneera administered the sexual assault kit after I left." She relaxed, feeling her answer was sufficient.

"Does she have a name?" The department head asked condescendingly. Vivian bit back a sarcastic remark, choosing to save it for another day.

"Ivy, but that's all I've gotten out of her so far. She's got a British accent though," Vivian replied. Copeland rubbed his chin and smirked.

"Very well," He started, leaning back in his leather office chair. As department head, he had his own little private space, consisting of a private desk and a computer; his medical diplomas were displayed along the wall in such a way that any visitors would see them as soon as they set foot inside. A small medical library was enclosed in wall high shelves behind the desk, most of the books quite thick. Vivian felt rather small in this imposing room.

'No wonder he likes it so much, it's just as self-centred and egotistical as he is.' She allowed herself to grin on the inside, her face a perfect emotionless mask to the outside world. Brian continued.

"You're going to get more information out of her tomorrow. I'm assigning her to you for the rest of her stay. Therefore, I'm also lowering the number of cases you'll take until she leaves. " He droned. Vivian's eyes flashed confusion. "She came in with severe hypothermia very early this morning, and I'm not prepared to let her go yet. If you can get an address out of her sometime within the next three days, I'll discharge her." He explained as if he were talking to a child. Though at 25 Vivian was at least nine years younger than him, she certainly didn't care for that kind of treatment. The emperor looked at the clock.

"You're dismissed, Dr. Myong. Get some sleep, you don't look too well." Vivian nodded obeisance and stood to leave, also looking at the clock.

'I survived a whole fifteen minutes of his ego-stroking? I deserve some sort of medal,' She thought, seeing that it was now 6:45. She quickly said goodbye to Dr. Copeland and left his office, concerned only with changing into street clothes and going home. Or she was, until she passed it.

Exam room one.

'I should probably go check, just for a moment,' She told herself. After all, she hadn't seen her new charge since Soneera Lakhani had taken over for her. 'It won't hurt to just say goodnight,' She rationalized. Besides, if the "emperor" had hinted at anything back in that "palace" of his, it was that she was going to be seeing a lot more of Ivy over the next three days.

The metal Venetian blinds were shut, laughing in the face of anyone who tried to look into the room. Vivian slowly turned the doorknob and tiptoed inside, in case the patient was already sleeping. To Vivian's mild surprise, she wasn't. Vivian went into physician mode.

"How are you doing?" She asked, walking to Ivy's bedside. The woman was significantly more awake than before.

"Better," Ivy replied while trying to get herself into a sitting position.

"Let me help you with that," Vivian offered, moving to assist the woman. Ivy relaxed and let Vivian take her under the arms, pulling her up. The Korean intern freed one arm to prop up Ivy's pillows, then gently laid her against them. "Is that good?" She asked.

"Yes, thank you." Ivy responded, half-yawning. Vivian smiled at her, then got down to business.

"Anyways, I thought I'd pop in to see you before I get out of here. How was your test?" She inquired. Ivy looked to the front of the room. "Hmm. Think of it this way," Vivian started, knowing how her patient felt. Ivy redirected her attention. "It's a one time thing. And no one will ever know the results except for Ms. Lakhani, my boss and I. Well, and you of course," Vivian explained, running her right hand through her hair. Ivy visibly thawed. Vivian also relaxed, grateful that her reassurance speech had worked. "So, did someone explain to you what's going to happen over the next three days?"

Ivy nodded. Vivian continued.

"Alright. So just to reconfirm, we've started you on a few drugs to help combat the hypothermia and reduce the chances of pregnancy if the assault kit comes back positive." Vivian gauged her patient's reaction as she spoke. "We've also started you on some drugs to reduce the risk of any diseases you may have contracted, again just in case the test comes back positive. If that happens, I'll talk to you about certain treatments and programs that can help you, alright?" She asked. Ivy nodded. "Because you were severely hypothermic, you'll be staying here a few days under my supervision. I'm not sure if they'll move you to a different room or not, but I'll be able to find you if they do. If you're well enough by Friday, I might be able to get permission from my boss to release you," Vivian tried to sound hopeful for her patient. "Trust me, you'll be sick of me after three days anyway," She joked. Ivy chuckled, her blue eyes twinkling. For some reason, this made Vivian's spine tingle, but she brushed it off.

'You're suffering from acute caffeine and sleep deprivation,' She diagnosed herself, halfway through a yawn. Ivy yawned too, almost as if she was responding to the intern's.

"You should go to sleep soon," Vivian recommended. "Have you eaten yet?" Ivy nodded.

"Yes, though I don't know if you could call what they gave me 'food'." Ivy looked at her hands, disgust on her face. Vivian smirked.

"Unfortunately I can't hire you a private caterer. Nor can I bring something in for you," She said with a slight regret, having experienced the "fine cuisine" at Toronto General.

Not by choice however.

By extreme hunger related to a 32-hour overnight stay on a rough stretch of on call shift. The call of her stomach overrode the common sense centre of her brain. Vivian brushed the memory aside, feeling a pang of hunger herself.

"All I can say is persevere with the food, and if it's really brutal, fake an allergy. That'll get you something different real fast." Vivian half-joked. Her attention was brought to Ivy's IV line, which had begun to beep annoyingly. "Now what do you want?" She spoke to it, checking the settings on the drip. The top priority was to ensure that no air had become trapped within the line, and having ruled that out, Vivian moved on to checking the bag itself.

"Hmm, This one's done. I'll find a nurse to change that for you before I leave." She said, turning towards the door.

"Dr. Myong," A voice beckoned from behind her. Vivian about-faced to look at her bedridden patient. "Thank you," Ivy said simply. Vivian's lips parted in a small smile.

"You're welcome," She replied, unable to remove the look from her face. "See you tomorrow," She said softly, closing the door behind her with a tiny click.

Sighing, she walked back the way she came to the triage desk. As much as she might try to think otherwise, her patient's well-being came before her own.

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Author's Note: I reposted this with some minor changes.

The Korean words murmured by Vivian are the first few lines to the opening theme from Dae Jang Geum, which is an amazing show in my opinion. It's even neater because it's actually based off of the 'Chronicles of the Joseon Dynasty', a record of that time period in Korea's history. Historical drama beautiful to me.

The story's going to be a bit slow for the first few chapters, because I'm setting up everything exactly the way I want it. The whole thing is basically written in my head, it's only a matter of getting the time to type it up and post it. It'll pick up soon enough, though.