"This is ridiculous! Let me off this stretcher!"
"Please calm down Miss Schnee. You have a laceration on your forearm. Your bleeding and you need medical attention."
"Be that as it may, I am perfectly capable of walking myself into the emergency department."
"Hospital policy-"
"I don't care what the hospital policy is, please get me off this stretcher."
The paramedic looks eternally grateful when the nurse approaches and grabs the chart off the end of the stretcher, shooing him away.
"I apologize for the excessiveness, Miss Schnee, but the paramedic was just following protocol, unless a doctor or a nurse has checked to see if there are any other potential risks to your health, you have to remain on the stretcher."
"I'm sorry. I am just embarrassed." Weiss hides her face in her hand, while cradling the injured arm across her body.
"Understandable."
"I would like to apologize to the paramedic, if possible."
"I will relay the message to him the next time he is here." She nods, while continuing to inspect the deep cut on Weiss' arm. "A doctor will need to come take a look, but my guess is a few stitches, and you will be on your way."
"Thank you."
"Is there someone we can call for you?"
"Um." She thinks about asking for them to call Blake, but she should be working and its not that serious, she could send a text on her own. "No I think I can handle it. It's not that serious, right?"
"Correct. The laceration is fairly minor, its just deep so we want to get it closed properly so it doesn't leave a nasty scar." Weiss nods and looks away, turning the phone over in her hand before sending a text to Blake telling her what happened and making sure to emphasize multiple times that she is okay and not to worry.
After about thirty minutes, the nurse returns with a glass of water and some pain medication.
"Apologies for the wait, we had another accident come in that was a little more severe than we had anticipated. Your doctor should be over very soon. They said to go ahead and give you these, should help with any pain you're having."
Weiss mumbles a thank you and lays back on the bed and closes her eyes. The adrenaline from the accident was beginning to wear off and she was suddenly feeling exhausted, and the pain in her arm was beginning to dull.
After what she assumes is a few minutes she hears the rubber snapping of gloves a few meters away and some mumbling familiar voices. Likely the nurses and someone else. But she doesn't bother to open her eyes.
Not until she hears the sound of the curtain surrounding her bed being pulled back does she open her eyes, not seeing what she expected at all.
"Hey. Are you okay?" Blake sits down on the wheeled stool beside Weiss' bed and grabs her hand.
"I'm fine. I was rushing and not paying attention and at the corner I stepped in front of a cyclist and he clipped me. It's just a scratch. I didn't want to worry you."
"Well, from what I heard, you need approval for pain medication and some stitches."
"Maybe." Weiss lowers her shoulders and looks away.
"Let me take a look." Blake reaches out and turns Weiss' arm so she can see the cut on her forearm at a better angle. The rubber from Blake's gloves make a crinkling sound and sticks to her skin, tugging at the area around her cut, and it doesn't feel all that grant and makes her wince. "Sorry."
"It's okay. I'm fine."
"Fine enough to need about ten to twelve stitches." Blake gives her a sympathetic look.
"Serves me right, I suppose. Should've been paying more attention."
"Eh. It was lunch time. That area is kind of busy. The biker should've also been paying more attention and not been riding on the sidewalk."
Blake spins around on the stool and grabs some items from a drawer in the cabinet beside the bed and places them on a tray and turns back to Weiss, placing the tray on the bed sheet beside her.
"Please tell me you aren't going to give me a shot with that huge needle."
"Then I won't tell you. But it is to numb your arm while I stitch it."
"You're going to do it?"
"I was going to, unless you prefer to have someone else do it?"
"No, no." Weiss squirms, accidentally taking another glance over at the syringe and needle. "I don't want someone else."
Blake chuckles as she looks at Weiss, who is clearly terrified of the needle and begging to get everything ready so she can get started.
"You don't need to look. You can, I dunno, let's do this." Blake slides over and pulls back the curtain even further so Weiss can look out and see a much larger amount of the emergency room floor. "Now you can look out and find something else to distract yourself with while I do this."
"Thank you." There is a sigh of relief as she looks out and begins to observe all of the activities that are taking place around them. "This is where you are, like all the time?"
"All the time I'm not with you, yes." Blake carefully places the needle and injects the numbing agent while continuing to distract Weiss. "The nurse that was checking in with you earlier looks like sh sis adjusting the IV for patient. And it looks like one of the other nurses is beginning to roll out the carts with lunches on them. So it must be roughly one o'clock." By now, Blake is about a third of the way through the stitching, all while Weiss is none the wiser.
"They said that there was a bad accident right after I came in. What happened?"
"There was a multi car accident. But by the time of arrival, the patient no longer required medical attention." Blake clears her throat.
"Oh…"
"One of the most difficult things is knowing and understanding that not everyone can be saved. But the most difficult thing is telling their loved ones." Something about the tone of Blake's voice weighs heavy on Weiss. She knows Blake has rough days at work, but she had never really felt it in the moment with her until right now. "But you are all stitched up and good to go, my dear."
Weiss looks back down at her arm, shocked that it was already finished.
"I was waiting for you to start. When did you do that?"
"Distraction is one of the greatest tools to use for people that are still conscious." Blake smirks, causing Weiss to roll her eyes.
"Well thank you. I'm sure without your top notch medical care, I'd have bled out by now."
"Oh, for sure." Weiss appreciates the sarcasm, but just this once. "You are going to need to take this antibiotic ointment home, and I will help with it if you need me to. It's important, so your cut doesn't get infected and your arm rots off, you know, that would be bad."
Weiss playfully slaps Blake's forearm with her uninjured arm and smiles.
Blake starts to clean up all of her tools and takes off her gloves, tossing them in the biohazard bin.
"Thank you, for texting me." Her voice is small.
"I would've called but I knew you were working and I didn't want to bother you."
"You are never a bother." Blake stands and leans forward, kissing Weiss' forehead before standing back up fully, and turns to walk away toward the nurses station.
"Do you want me to stay?" Blake turns and looks at Weiss with a questioning look on her face. "I meant like here, right now. Am I supposed to wait here, or can I go home?"
"Oh, um the nurse will come and give you the paperwork once you're all done. Should just be a few minutes." Blake leaves and pulls back the curtain so Weiss can have a little privacy while she waits.
After a few minutes, she hears the sound of someone walking in her direction, at a rather brisk pace.
The curtain swings back open, and the nurse has a small stock of documents for Weiss to sign and some aftercare instructions, as well as the ointment Blake had mentioned.
"I forgot." Blake says as she comes bursting back around the side of the curtain. "You probably need a ride home. I can take you home with me. Just give me a few minutes. And then we can go. Um. Don't forget your ointment. I'll be back in a few minutes." She realizes the nurse, who is holding back a snicker, is there and a blush floods Blake's cheeks. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I'm just gonna go now." She closes her eyes and shakes her head in embarrassment but immediately looks back at Weiss. "But I'm coming right back."
"It's okay Dr. Belladonna, I can take it from here for a few minutes."
"Right, okay." And with that Blake disappears once again.
Weiss can't help but start laughing at Blake's awkwardness.
"Dr. Belladonna is such a good. But she is a favorite among the nurses."
"Is that so?"
"Oh yes, the most respectful of all the attending physicians, by miles. Even when she was a resident. Just a great doctor. Doesn't mind helping us out, when any of the other doctors would be caught dead before doing the work of a nurse. Just a lovely young woman." Weiss feels her heart swell in her chest. "Of course I'm sure you know all of this already. She loves you to bits. Talks about you all the time."
"Well that feeling is certainly mutual. Thank you for all of your help. I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome, Miss Schnee. Take care." The nurse pats her shoulder before heading off to check on another one of her patients.
"Ready to go?" This time, Blake has on jeans and a t-shirt instead of her scrubs, and has her backpack slung over one shoulder.
Weiss swings her legs over the side of the bed and looks up at Blake, who is holding out her hand for Weiss to take.
"I think I want to marry you."
"W-What?"