Full Metal watched as Emily sat down on a plastic and metal chair. She tucked one leg up towards her chest, hugging her knee with her arms.
"I swear, I've usually got my shit together…" he sighed, "I don't usually break down so easily."
"I figured." She winked.
He chuckled, "Yeah?"
"Full Metal… I mean, you've probably had to earn up to that nickname ever since you got it. And the fact that I witnessed five grown soldiers who looked like they would be comfortable in any situation they possibly could be put in, struggle to come up with your real name… It's not a new nickname, is it?"
He smirked, "No, it's got some mileage."
She nodded.
"Thanks for the…" he pointed behind him to indicate a few minutes ago, "The tough love. I needed it."
"Sorry if it was too tough."
He shook his head, "No. Just right, in fact…"
"Good." She smiled, before she looked over at where his injured leg was covered up.
"Gonna leave some serious scars…" he glanced over at her.
She nodded, "Yeah, it will. How do you feel about that?"
He shrugged a little, "Don't really care much about it. It's a part of the job, besides… I heard chicks dig scars."
She chuckled despite herself, "Not everyone, but some of us at least."
He offered up a smile, before his expression turned thoughtful once again, "You think I can make it back in action?"
She shrugged a little, "Already told you… Way too early to make guesses about that yet."
He let his head fall back against his pillow, "I've been in the military since I basically was a kid… I don't really know who I am without that life."
"Yeah?" she tilted her head, "Who are you when you're stateside?"
"Huh?"
"When you're at home. My guess is that you don't live in a tent or a barracks when you're at home. I also guess that you have something you tend to do when you're at home."
"No. I switch the barracks out for a small-ish apartment when I'm home." he shrugged.
She nodded.
"I live alone, so I don't need that much space. I don't spend much time there anyway." He shrugged, "And the rest of my family lives close enough so I don't need spare bedrooms."
"Sounds like we have the same approach to home-life then…"
"Yeah?"
She nodded, "When I'm back home, I'm usually just back for a couple of months at most. I've got a two-bedroom miniature apartment. Rent one bedroom out to a student, and for a month or two we're roomates."
Full Metal chuckled, "Smart move."
She nodded, "Yeah. So, what do you usually do when you're home?"
"Work out." He shrugged, "Hang out with the rest of the team. Visit family. Won't be up for working out, the team won't be home for a while and I won't be able to visit my family before my leg gets a lot better."
She pressed her lips together as she listened to him.
"What about you? Got any hobbies to recommend?" he asked as he raised his eyebrows at her.
She shrugged a bit, "I'm an avid photographer, that's a good low energy hobby."
He smirked.
"I cook and bake." She tilted her head from side to side, "I read."
"Well, kitchen stuff usually means you have to be on your feet for a stretch of time." he tsked, "Photographing as well, I guess."
"It's possible to have an office chair to scoot around on in the kitchen."
"True." He chuckled, "But I don't even think I'm there yet."
"Yeah, you have to keep your leg up for a while. Above heart level, preferably."
He nodded, "Reading, well… Guess I could do that."
She nodded, "So, I see you've got a book laying on your table… Have you read it?"
"No, my buddies figured they should fix a 'Full Metal care package'…" he chuckled, "Haven't even gotten around to reading the title yet."
Emily smiled.
"So, what do you read?" he asked.
"Action, thrillers, crime." She shrugged, "And anything else I can get lost in."
He nodded along, "What's your favorite book then?"
"Can I pick an entire series?"
He shrugged and nodded.
"The Jack Reacher series then." She smiled.
"Yeah, what's that about?"
"This guy named Jack Reacher, who's an ex-MP." She started, "He's never looking for trouble, but trouble sure has a way of finding him. The books always carry a lot of suspense, has a good pace. The character isn't really a good-guy, but he sure isn't a bad-guy either. He's just a guy who wants everything to be right, yet he's balancing on the line between what's okay and what is a crime."
"Sounds interesting."
She nodded, and glanced to her right for a moment as something pinged, but seemed to disregard it quickly, "High suspense and high body count, that's two things you can just expect."
Full Metal nodded, "Sounds… Sounds like I have to check out the first book when I get back stateside."
"Would recommend that." Emily nodded, "Do you have a favorite book?"
"Nah… Not really. Only time I read is when I can't do other stuff. Like when I'm on the plane and everyone else is sleeping."
"-Or when you're injured?"
"No, I usually manage to find other stuff to do then. But, this time…"
"-You might?"
He nodded.
The nurse had sat there with him and talked for probably half an hour, when he started feeling guilty. "I shouldn't occupy you from your other patients."
"You're not." She shook her head. "I won't say the 'Q' word, but it's one of those days. And if you look at that little display over there, none of my rooms are blinking…"
He looked over, "Yeah?"
"Yup. When the little green indicator is lit, that means 'I'm here!', so every time a patient pulls the call cord, it's shown in the hallway AND in the rooms where that green button is pushed."
"Oh, okay." He nodded, "I didn't know."
She smiled, "Just, if I almost forget on the way out, please remind me to turn it off, because when someone pulls the call cord in a room where that green light is activated, there's an alert and we all think someone has fallen and injured themselves more, or is about to die."
"Copy that. I'll try to remind you."
She nodded, "And next med round is still an hour away… So… Unless you want peace and quiet…"
He shook his head, "No. I appreciate it."
She smiled back at him.
"So, how did you end up working here?"
"The hospital I started out at back home has this as its sister-hospital." She shrugged, "And I'm adventurous."
"Enjoy it?"
She nodded.
"Plan on doing this forever?"
She shrugged, "I plan on traveling a lot, but I'm also planning on settling down at a point. I just don't know if that's five or fifteen years down the line."
"That's a dangerous way of thinking…" Full Metal chuckled, "Pretty soon you're a 'lifer'…"
She chuckled, "Yeah. That wouldn't be too bad either."
He smiled, then he didn't. "I really thought I'd be a soldier until they carried me out feet first."
"I'm pretty sure your family's glad that didn't happen this time." Emily offered up, "And I know those teammates of yours are very glad they won't have to attend another funeral just yet."
Full Metal nodded, "Guess you're right."
She nodded.
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, then she cleared her voice. "Have you been able to tell your family you're hurt? I saw your emergency contact was one of your teammates."
He shook his head, "No. Haven't done that yet."
"Do you need to borrow a phone?"
"No. Got my own."
"Do you want me to sit here as emotional support?"
"Could you?"
She nodded, "I can. Just let me ask my coworkers if they can take my calls if someone needs help while you call them."