Personally I didn't know nor care what was going on this time. All that was going on was people being hurt in ways that the medicine men and women could not handle and I was running from one end of the hospital to the other all day. From the crack of dawn to just before midnight or after it. Depending if paperwork could be slipped in or not. I could feel my stomach clench painfully as my breathing became more labored once again. Exhaustion, malnutrition, and exercise was never a good combination. For some reason the 'royal' family had taken an interest in one of the patients. Always coming in and asking about him. Always looking for updates. Why? No clue. I really didn't want to involve myself in their affairs so I gave them the information they desired as long as it didn't violate any agreements of sorts.

I gazed upon the paperwork on my desk top. For a while I just stood there. Just staring it down like that would make it go away. But eventually I had to. Just standing there I would accomplish nothing. So I fell back into the chair I had spent the night in so many times before and started to sift through what was there. Looking for the most important cases to start on. Hopefully I'd get to see a decent portion of the desktop today. And so I went to work.

Each file or paper sorted, looked over, signed, or likewise was dropped heavily to the left side of my chair where I had designated as the 'finished' side. I glanced at the clock at some point during the furious paperwork war. A war that I was losing since no matter how much I cleared twice as much seemed to pop up in it's place. 11:46. I looked back at my desk. I sighed. I think I deserved a reward for what I've been doing 'by myself'. Some relief so I could relax. The space was large enough.

I opened the second drawer down on the left and pulled out the scalpel and the bit of stained cloth. Placing the cloth on the empty space I rolled up my sleeves. Which one…? The truth on my right arm appeared to be fading to my eyes. I hadn't touched it in several days as I was better with writing with the right. Evil. Cruel. Pervert. Abomination.

The long word that seemed to dance along the upper half of my inner arm called to me. Abomination. Evil, Cruel, and Pervert sitting neatly underneath it. So grasping the blade in my left hand I set it on the A near my wrist. Slowly I began my quiet work. No. Not work. My past time. The past time that grounded me when I started to lose myself. I needed this. Each letter I carefully redrew brought me closer and closer to who I was. Closer to the emotion I lost when I wore the 'good doctor' mask through the long day. I chew on my lip as I focused on carefully tracing the words that I had so carefully place and replace over and over again. For fear of ruining the perfection. The truth… I needed it. I needed this ritual. Each letter needed to be reset on the canvas that was my skin or I would forget it.

My left hand was shakier so I was always so scared as one wrong move and the perfection would be tainted. Which was why I was so hesitant at writing on my right arm. But it needed to be done before it faded.

The bright crimson put me at ease. Woke me up, but at the same time seemed to drag in a cloud of sleepiness after a while. Lack of blood paired with my work caused ailments. Once I finished I looked up at my work with a dull sense of pride. Still perfect. I watched the beautiful crimson overflow the lines for a moment before I went to work cleaning up.

There was a rather annoying sound at the corner of my consciousness. A noise which I struggled to block out as it persisted. A very familiar beeping. When it finally faded away relief was what I recognized before sleep claimed be once more. I jolted away at the rough shake what felt like not even a moment later.

"Whale."

"What?" I asked irritably as I rubbed at my eyes with my left hand.

I took a moment to focus my gaze as it blurred before me for a moment. Ruby, Emma, and her father. Two royals and their pet dog. No. She helped me. I shouldn't think that way. Saving me from a watery grave was something I owed her for so not calling her a pet or a dog may be a good start even if it's just in my head. My mind was starting up slower than usual as it tried to pick out why they were here. Were they distressed in any way? Slightly. Ruby more so for whatever reason as she looked around the paper filled room I called my office… Was she sniffing or was that just the way my vision was wavering? So something serious happened then? Emma's lips were moving, but I hadn't realized she was talking…

"What?" I inquired with much less force. "Run that by me again."

"For the love of-" She grasped my doctors coat and practically dragged me along. "Would you wake up? John can't breath!"

John? I took a moment. Oh wait…. Was he that flying monkey? My thoughts were becoming clearer as I felt the truth I had made a part of me tug at my flesh. I was trying to catch up with myself when I was shoved in front of the supposed patient. Was he the monkey? His lips were taking on a bluish tint. His breathing was an uneven wheeze and I had to wonder what had happened. Wait… Why hadn't they told me anything? Wait, did they?

"Well?!"

"Huh? What happened to him?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?! His lips are turning blue and you're asking what happened?! We don't know! Do something Doctor!"

I tried to ignore the slight curl and appeared on the blonde's lips when she referred to me.

"Does he have any open wounds?"

"No!"

"Ok, ok."

I scratched at my right arm. No open wounds and he couldn't breathe. It probably had something to do with blunt force trauma. Something must have gotten broken or knocked where it shouldn't have. So broken ribs maybe and quite possibly a collapsed lung. But there was no time to just stand here and try and pinpoint anything. So grabbing the nearest blade I ordered them around to fetch things which they did without question. I cut open the t-shirt and sure enough it looked like some broken ribs. Some bruising was forming around the affected area. Once I was finally done with the complex work that I probably shouldn't have been doing at the moment I fell back in the nearest chair.

"So, he'll be ok?"

"Go get a nurse. Someone needs to stay here and monitor his breathing."

I ran my left hand over my face tiredly. Whatever autopilot I had been on was fading away.

"So? He's ok now?" David or Prince Charming or whatever he was called now spoke much calmer which I was glad for over Emma's loud demands.

"He should be if he stays down and doesn't do anything that could move anything back out of place."

They seemed satisfied with that answer. There was silence for a time as they seemed to want to wait for Emma to come back before they went anywhere.

"... So have you been working with blood?" Ruby spoke after a minute.

"It's a hospital, Ruby. There's blood everywhere no matter how much you clean up especially in this town."

"Oh. Right." She seemed to be thinking as she looked me over. "Feeling ok?"

Well that was a first. No one bothered to ask no matter how down or tired I looked. I let my eyes close again.

"No."

I was running ragged. Working off fumes. What do you think? How about you try running an entire hospital by yourself? No. Stop. She's the only one who bothered to ask. Don't freaking ruin whatever understanding you made with her that night.

"Sorry. I haven't slept in a while."

"Haven't been home in awhile either."

"Che. What gave it away?" It was meant to be sarcastic, but all I managed was deadpanned tone.

The door opened and the click of heels sounded. I drew in a breath as I stood.

"Watch him. If anything weird happens with his breathing tell me. Such as a repeating hitch or unusual cough."

I headed out and back to my office. If someone needed me they'd just have to grow a backbone and seek me out themselves. Besides I needed another stress relieving session with myself.

Yay! Longer chapter!