"Give me Your tired…Your Hungry…Your Clamoring Masses yearning to breath free."- Written on the base of the Statue of Liberty
Chapter One New Arrival
April 1st Friday
Her name was Tsuniko Tsunara, Tsuni for short. She was twenty-two, and she was very very late for work.
'Why didn't I listen to that damn mechanic? I mean he was hitting on me but still.' She sighed and shook her head at the thought and threw her purse over her shoulder and ran.
She ran quickly in her nurse's scrubs down the busy streets of Nashville, Tennessee, gasping for air because of the humid weather. Her car had stalled two blocks back in the early rush to work.
Her green eyes lit up as she came upon the parking lot for Vanderbilt Hospital, 'At last the Hospital, I never thought Id get here. With a smile she began running through the parking lot, zigging and zagging between cars, towards the main entrance.
She entered through the automatic doors into the buzzing hospital and grabbed the reception desk as she bent over to try and catch her breath. A thousand thoughts swirled through her mind as she tried to catch her breath.
'Lord Im out of shape, I was able to run that distance two years ago no sweat.'
She jumped suddenly as she felt a hand on her back and turned to see the two cloudy grey eyes of Doctor Callihan the resident physician looking back at her.
"Are you ok Tsuni...you look, winded?"
She took a few more breathes before standing up and responding in English, lightly drawled from years in the South, "Im fine sir, my car stalled about two blocks back...and well I was forced to run the full distance."
Doctor Callihan nodded in understanding and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the intercoms robotic voice. "Doctor Callihan you are needed in the O.R.immediately."
He sighed and turned to walk away but paused mid stride and turned again to look at Tsuni, "You better hurry and log in before the boss figures out you were late."
Tsuni's face went from out of breath to shocked as she turned to a very bored looking temp secretary and yelled, "Hurry, hurry, log me in my name is Tsuniko Tsunara!"
The bored temp jumped from her near-sleep state and typed in the loud teenage girl's name. After that was accomplished Tsuni waited impatiently for the temp to hand her her messages for the day.
Tsuni did a quick about face and hummed as she headed towards the wash room to get ready for her daily rounds.
Space
After the original shock of being alive had worn off he began too look at his surroundings more.
Things focused and for the first time in a very long while he felt no pain and no needles, well one needle. It was in his right hand and was hooked to his IV.'I…HATE needles!' with a gulp his breathing returned to normal. He continued too look around the room gathering his surroundings in clearly for the first time and then he tried to move, it hurt, and he realized it was from bedsores. This realization led to another few, he had no idea were he was, who had treated him, or how long he'd been uncouncious.
Though the bed sores were painfull he was eager to move around and forced himself to sit up, he then noticed a television mounted on the upper right corner and a remote control to his left. He hit what he thought was the on button and the television came to life with scenes of war, and something about victories for freedom by Coalition Troops....
Space
Tsuni walked hurridly through the hallways of the hospital and came to the room of one of her recent patients, a John Doe with no name or I.D. and DNA that wasnt in the system. It was as if the man had simply fallen out of the sky.
Tsuni frowned as she continued walking, 'With all the injuries he had he could of very well fallen out of the sky, of course he hasnt made sense since he got here.'
She shook off her frown and put on a neutral face as she came upon the room, 'Oh well guess I better try and help him.' She entered to find her John Doe didn't need as much help as she thought.
Space
He jumped in his bed as the nurse entered into the room and looked suprised to see him awake. His eyes wandered over her as he put her image to memory and thought, ' hmm she's pretty.' She stuttered out a "h-h-hi." He cocked his head to the side and gave a light wave and smile to the girl. 'She doesn't seem very quick on the uptake though.'
As the girl turned to run to get a doctor she heard a question behind her. "Hey hold up, what's your name?"
She turned and looked at him, green eyes alive with excitement, "My names Tsuni. What's yours?" "Alex." And with that her serious face returned as she raced down the hall towards the nearest Doctor she could think of.
Space
After finding a doctor Tsuni's alarm on her wristwatch went off signaling lunch, and break time for her and the staff.
'Finally time to relax.'
She hummed a lightly melodic tune to herself as she walked down the hallway towards the breakroom on that floor.
She arrived at the breakroom, it was small with a kitchen and a few chairs, a table and a couch. She stopped and looked up at the clock in the room,
'12:30, good I have a full thirty minutes to just relax. I wonder what's in the fridge?'
Tsuni walked over to the refrigerator in the breakroom and opened it and looked through it,'hmm, ham or turkey? Ill just take ham…not like Ill gain any weight.' Grabbing a soda and ham sandwich she turned her attention to getting a bag of chips from the cupboard.
She had to get on her tip-toes to get the chips. As she grunted stretching to reach the chips her mind wandered. 'I hate being short, stupid tall cupboards.' Once done she quickly set her food on the table and sat down opening her soda and taking a blissfull drink.
'God this is good after that run this morning.'
Slowly but surely other people began to arrive to eat their lunch, the first person to show up was Doctor Calihan. His role in Tsuni's life was that of a father figure, he had the age…even the black and white goatee.
After eyeing her for a second he commented on her rather ravenous appetite. "I take it your rather hungry this after noon aren't you?"
Tsuniko stopped for a second to nod before she tore back into her food.
The older man shook his head and turned to the fridge to get his sizable lunch as Tsuniko finished hers with a slight, unheard burp.
She sipped her drink slowly examining the back of the head of the man who had been her only friend when she moved here.
The next person Tsuniko noticed coming in was Doctor Ater. The site of him made her grimace and try and back away. She was not fond of him because of his rather continuous pursuits of her. And this fact held true as the first things out of his mouth were just that.
He walked up to her and after very slowly roaming up and down her body with his eyes he asked, "Hey Tsuni….busy Tonight?"
Doctor Callihan turned to grimace at those words, he was always protective of Tsuniko.
Slouching her shoulders slightly she rolled her eyes and then looked up at him. "No I'm not doing anything…and no I won't go any were with you."
His male pride deflated, he gathered his lunch and sat as far away from Tsuniko as he could.
Shaking his head lightly Doctor Callihan opened his mouth to say something but shut it with a snap when Tsuniko turned her glare on him. "And don't you say a single thing to me mister on how I need to get out more."
Chuckling he continued shaking his head, "I wasn't even going to say That."
Judy Hopkins, the lead nurse, and 14 years Tsuniko's senior, walked in and before saying anything handed Tsuniko a file of papers." You forgot to do you filing again…And hey Tsuni." Judy continued walking and ended up sitting down with a sandwich.
Doctor Callihan leaned foreward and commented," I heard your John Doe woke up, is that true?"
Tsuni smiled lightly and leaned back into the soft couch before responding to the doctor' I wonder how he knew?', "Yeah…..How'd you find out about that so quickly?"
The older man's grey colored eyes jumped with a michevious glint, "Oh I have my ways, but Ill never tell." Tsuni gave him a light glare, as the man gave a few windless chuckles looking for someone to save him from her glare
Judy then leaned foreward in her seat and decided to join the conversation, "Oh ignore him Tsuni, he loves playing at the 'Man of Mystery.' But in truth he just found out from his snooping through your messages."
"Hey what were you doing going through my messages?" Asked a lightly upset Tsuniko.
Doctor Callihan looked downcast and pouty before looking back up and shrugging at all of them and pouting, "Well hey how else am I supposed to keep an idea about what goes on around here?"
Tsuniko grimaced at him," Fine Ill forgive you."
After this little bought of conversation an uneasy silence settled over everyone, before Doctor Callihan decided to break it.
"So…uh…why so quiet Peter?"
Doctor Ater looked up surprised he was being included in the conversation. Or being talked to by the older man
"Bad day, one of my patients decided to keel on me...Gave me a lot of paperwork."
Doctor Callihan's face went into a deep frown," wait one of your patients dies, and you are only thinking of the Paperwork?"
Tsuniko figured out quite quickly that this would simply turn into a moral argument between the two doctors. So as she was leaving Tsuniko caught bits and pieces of their argument as she got up to throw away the remains of her lunch. 'I hate arguments. Just a waste of time'
…."How can you act so cold towards someone who just died!?"
Tsuniko shook her head and began to walk out,'Just don't notice me I don't want any part of this.' She silently crossed her fingers as she kept walking away.
….."Ill finish this argument with you later, Tsuniko wait!"
Tsuniko now in the hallway turned to face Doctor Ater as her face took on a woried look.' Oh great he's going to ask me out to somewhere...Again'
Doctor Ater took a second to catch his breath and then gave his cheesiest smile. "I'm going to a award banquet tomorrow would you be so kind to accompany me?"
Tsuniko turned and rather quickly so that her mid back hair almost smacked the doctor in the face.
"You already asked me once Doctor, have some dignity and stop trying." Tsuniko turned and began to walk away.
Peter's face scrunched up in anger before he stepped foreward and grabbed Tsuniko's right arm and spun her around forcefully. "You know I can take you turning me down, but NO ONE insults me!
For a second Tsuniko's eyes filled with fear, and then they filled with another emotion. "Peter, let me go, your hurting me."
By now Peter was enraged and was more than willing to harm her.
Space
Doctor Callihan had been trying to cool off after the argument when he heard the yelling in the hallway from Peter and Tsuni and stood shaking his head.
'I better make sure she doesn't hurt him too bad, she has enough to worry about besides that pig.' As he walked out of the breakroom he came upon an interesting site. Peter flung his arm foreward in an attempt slap Tsuniko, she turned and blocked his arm with her right hand and stepped foreward kneeing him in the groin. Peter's eyes bugged out and with a light groan he released her and fell to the ground holding himself.
Dr. Callihan smiled at Tsuniko who was now glaring down at the prone Dr. Ater.
"I guess I really didn't need to come out and help you, why don't you head home though, I don't think you should be around when the boss hears about this."
Tsuniko closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Alright….I guess." She frowned. "Thanks for caring enough to come help."
Dr. Callihan smiled, "Just get going." He walked up to her stepping over the other Doctor handing her cab fare. "And use this to get home, Now go home and relax."
Tsuniko chewed on her lip, turned around and walked towards the stairs, It hadn't even been a full day yet she needed to go home.
Authors Notes
1. For those who don't know or couldn't figure it out, Alex's family is dead and well…to coin a phrase, he's "Not in Kansas" anymore.
2. I wont put a deadline on when Ill release chapter two, but it should be soon….I hope. Feed my addiction to reviews, But please critique my story, if I did something wrong and messed up LET ME KNOW!
3. Also, I am not well versed in how a Hospital works, the hierarchy, the age limits, If I made a major mistake let me know. Also the reason Tsuniko is so young and working at a Hospital is explained later.
4. And for a final note if you are clueless to how Alex went from Xaranthras to the hospital, well he was picked up uncouncious and injured and brought to the hospital.
Good Day and Please review.
