Title: Hard Day at Work

Summary: While working at the hospital, Kim encounters one bad thing after another. Time drags on as she pushes through, waiting until her shift is over. When things get worse and Kim could be in trouble, Jack shows up at just the right time.

Inspiration: I started this story over the summer and it was based off a real experience I had with a super mean lady who made me want to cry :)

Confession: I am posting this almost 100% because I need to share something. I just finished the most gut-wrenching series and my heart absolutely shattered and who the heck let me start a book that was going to make me feel so much. i will never understand why people purposefully seek out these kind of books. They tear me apart. I am a fairly empathetic person but like I feel incomplete and broken and the ending was even kind of happy too. Anyways it's a good girl's guide to murder and I finished book 3 and what a rollercoaster. but i would recommend. ravi is king.

Mental health check: I'm good. I'm healing after that book. I'm almost better actually. I cool down pretty fast it's been like 15 minutes since I finished the book lol. BUT how are all of you? Doing okay? Not? Do something nice for yourself in the next 10 minutes. Read a book, drink some water, eat some food, stretch, tell your mom you love her.

After a long week, Kim wasn't the most excited to have afternoon plans. She was working at the hospital again. A few months ago one of the nurses suggested she apply for the position of secretary. Her volunteer work put her at an advantage because almost everyone knew her already. She knew her way around and how the hospital worked and a paid position would help her save up for college.

Kim agreed and was quickly hired. She loved it most of the time. It wasn't difficult and she got to hang out with some of her favorite nurses and doctors. Plus the exposure to the medical world was something beyond valuable to an aspiring medical student. But it was days like today, where she would have preferred to just go home and take a nap, that Kim struggled.

Kim went in straight after school since there was a quick team meeting with the other pep squad members. She had to change in the car and when she bumped her head on the back of the seat, tears threatened to fall.

It was one of those times like at school when you get hit with a ball in the face and everyone crowds you and asks if you're okay. You say you're fine but then your eyes start watering anyway and they notice and everyone feels really bad but you didn't want to cry and it hurt and now you're just embarrassed.

That was exactly what it felt like to Kim.

Pushing down her emotions, Kim took a sip of water and walked in, plastering a smile on her face.

It's just a few hours, she chanted the entire way up to her desk.

When Kim arrived she noticed immediately that it was not going to be a relaxing shift. The floor was crowded with doctors rushing every which way. The waiting room was full and the desk was surrounded. Great.

Squeezing past all the bodies, Kim shimmied her way to the desk, ducking under the collapsable bridge since she couldn't even lift it up with all the papers that were piled on it.

"Hey, Bridgitte," Kim greeted with a sigh, giving a small wave to the other secretary.

"Hi, Kim," Bridgitte replied with a tired smile. Bridgitte was there much more often, usually while Kim was at school or karate or sporting events or basically any other normal teenage activity.

While Kim clocked in, she mentally prepared herself to deal with patients' families and friends. Customer service was a fairly strong quality that Kim had, she only occasionally lost her temper telling off deserving rude remarks. But when you were working in a hospital, people's emotions usually ran high and they couldn't think clearly. Nearly every interaction was with somebody who was stressed or scared and that made reasoning with them very difficult.

Thankfully, Bridgitte didn't leave as soon as Kim clocked in. She finished up with the woman she had been helping, and then let Kim take the lead while she tried to get the line taken care of and keep everyone calm.

It was about 45 minutes later that things finally calmed down and Bridgitte felt better about leaving Kim.

Kim was leaning back in her chair, taking a well-deserved sip of water as she watched Bridgitte pack her things.

"Thank you for staying," Kim said. "Really. You didn't have to but your being here made a big difference."

Bridgitte swatted at the comment. "You don't have to thank me, hun. I know how hard this job can be. You're not just a secretary, you're the first thing these people have to take their anger and frustrations out on and you handle it wonderfully. It's hard for anyone, but you're one of the best workers we have here, Kim. You do great work, I never mind staying a little longer to help."

Kim usually would have blushed at the compliment and thanked Bridgitte, but today she was having a hard time choking out a simple thanks.

Bridgitte waved as she said farewell. "Bye, Kim. Have a good night!"

Kim offered a wave as she turned towards the screen and took a few shaky breaths.

The next hour was fairly calm. All she had to do was point a few people in the right direction and add a few appointments to the schedule. There were only 2 phone calls, something she was glad for since she was not in the mood to talk on the phone.

Because of the slow nature of the hour, Kim had pulled out her homework. It had never been a problem before, as long as she was doing her job and helping anyone who needed it, nobody cared that Kim did her schoolwork. In fact, they even encouraged it so Kim wouldn't waste her time.

She had been partially through her outline of an analysis paper for English when a throat cleared in front of her.

"Oh, sorry," Kim apologized, quickly bookmarking her spot and setting the book aside. "I didn't see you there. How can I help you?"

The woman was scowling at Kim as she glared at the book Kim had been looking through. "You don't get paid to sit around and read frilly little books. This is a hospital, have some respect!" she spat.

Kim was slightly taken aback, not sure what she had done to receive that harsh comment.

"I'm sorry," Kim answered quickly. "I didn't mean for you to have to wait."

"I didn't wait," the woman said quickly. "But if I had we'd be having a different conversation right now and you would be fired."

After having apologized sincerely, Kim wasn't sure what else she could do. She was given permission to do her homework. She was told it was okay by her bosses.

"My supervisors actually don't mind me doing homework," Kim answered in the nicest way she could, trying to defend herself.

"Whatever," the woman scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm here for Eric."

Kim waited for the woman to continue, but instead, she just stared at Kim.

"Oh," Kim said, realizing that was all the information the woman was going to provide. "Okay. Is he a patient?" Kim asked, not even knowing where to start.

The woman clenched her jaw as she gave Kim another glare. "Yes, he's a patient. Shouldn't you know that?" she spat.

"I'm sorry," Kim apologized, getting the gist that this conversation was going to be full of apologies. "There are a lot of patients that come and go, I'm afraid I can't remember all of them."

Kim didn't give room for a response and instead began typing on the computer, looking in the database for a patient named Eric that was on her floor.

"It looks like there are a few Erics here," Kim noticed. "What's his last name?"

"I told you, you should know," the woman sneered

"Is it Eric Chamberlin?" Kim asked, spotting the first Eric on the list.

"No."

"Eric Gray?"

"No."

"Eric Northcut?"

The woman didn't even respond to that one, giving Kim an annoyed look.

"M'am, I'm sorry but it would be easier if you could just tell-"

"It's Winterheim," she finally spat, interrupting Kim loudly. "Are you an idiot or something?" she muttered.

The comment caught Kim off guard, leaving her reeling as she scrolled and found the name Eric Winterheim. She printed off Eric's report and glanced at it then back up at the woman.

"Um… What's your relation to Mr. Winterheim?" Kim asked, shaking slightly with the paper in her hand.

"I'm his mother."

Kim bit her lip anxiously. "I'm sorry, M'am. Mr. Winterheim is only allowed one family member and it looks like his wife is with him."

"Well I'm his mother!" she nearly screeched.

Kim jumped back at the noise, quickly glancing around to see if they had disturbed anyone else.

"Okay," Kim said, trying to get the woman to calm down. "I'm sorry. I can talk to the nurses and see what they can do, okay?"

"I shouldn't have to wait for you!" she scoffed. "I am his mother! I birthed him! I am the most important woman in his life!"

"Look, I'm sorry, but it's just the rule. I'm not allowed to give out the room number until it's been cleared. It's just the hospital policy. If you just wait in the hall to the right I'll do what I-"

"I know where I'm going," she sneered, reaching out for the paper and ripping it forcefully out of Kim's hand. Before Kim could say anything the woman turned on her heel so dramatically that her purse knocked the pen jar over and spilled pens all over both sides of the counter.

Kim immediately crouched down to the floor behind the desk, picking up the pens as her mind processed what just happened. She felt tears well up again and this time she couldn't stop the few drops that squeaked out.

"Excuse me?" a voice called from the other side of the counter.

Kim swiped a hand under her eyes quickly before standing back up and plastering the most genuine smile she could manage.

"Hi," Kim said.

"That lady was so rude to you," the girl said, nodding towards where the other woman had stalked off to.

"It's okay," Kim tried to say.

"No, it's not," the girl said. "Are you okay?"

Kim nodded, feeling her face heat up and the tears resurface with double the power. She tried to wipe the tears off so she wouldn't be crying in front of the girl, but they kept coming.

"Oh, it's okay," the girl tried to comfort. "I'm sorry, here," she said, offering up a tissue from the box next to her.

"Thanks," Kim said, taking the cloth gratefully. "I'm sorry," she said, apologizing for the tears.

"Don't worry about it," the girl replied. "I used to work in food, there were rude customers all the time. I never understand how some people can be so cruel when workers are just trying to help them."

Kim nodded along, trying to stop herself from full-on sobbing.

"Can I help you with something?" Kim asked through her sniffling, wanting to help the girl who had been so nice to her.

The girl gave Kim another warm smile. "Yeah, I was just wondering if there were any updates on my sister, Maleia Smith?"

Kim gave the name a quick search before writing it down on a post-it so she wouldn't forget.

"I don't see anything. I can go get one of her nurses to talk to you though," Kim answered, feeling very sorry that she couldn't offer the nice girl more help.

"Oh, that's okay. Thank you so much. No rush, sweetie," the girl said, leaving Kim with a gentle smile.

Kim took a moment to herself to breathe and try to stop the shaking in her hands. She wasn't sure when exactly it started but she couldn't stop now. She just kept replaying the rude encounter with the first woman. She almost wanted to hide out for the rest of her shift and not speak to another person. But she couldn't do that, she would just have to power through.

With the two names that had been brought up, Kim briefly left the desk to search for the nurses she needed.

When she spotted Nurse Ada, she swallowed her tears and walked up.

"Hey, Kim. What do you need?"

"Um, there was a girl asking about her sister. The patient's name is Maia Smith," Kim said, starting with the easier one.

"Okay, that's one for Michael, he's been working with Maia since this morning. Is that all?" Ada asked, sensing something was wrong.

Kim shook her head. "No. Um… there was another woman too. She was asking about her son but she was being really rude and she snatched his papers out of my hand and walked off. I tried to talk to her but she was so rude. I'm sorry-"

Ada cut Kim off. "Kim, baby, if somebody is being rude to you, you don't have to take that. They think just because you're a young woman they know better than you. Why didn't you come get someone else to help her?"

Kim suddenly felt worse, being scolded like that. "Well it happened so fast and she stormed off before I could really do anything," Kim answered, her voice cracking at the end.

Ada sighed, realizing she had just made Kim feel worse. "It's okay, I'm not upset with you. But next time, will you tell them to wait while you go get one of us?"

Kim nodded, hoping that there just wouldn't be a next time.

"What was the patient's name that she was looking for?"

"Eric Winterheim," Kim said, hoping she would never have to hear that name again.

"Okay. I'll take care of both of those for you. Why don't you take a 15-minute break? You can go grab a snack and sit in the lounge?" Ada suggested.

Kim nodded gratefully. She went back to the desk just to tidy a few things up and then went to the privacy of the lounge to pull herself together. Ugh, she was a mess today.

After sipping on some water and munching on some chips, Kim's spirits were somewhat lifted. Checking her phone, Kim smiled when she saw a text from Jack.

He was in the area and wanted to know what kind of food she wanted. Not if she wanted any, just what she wanted because he was already going to do it.

It was like he had some sort of sixth sense and just knew that Kim needed that.

After a little back and forth, Jack said he was getting her a sandwich and would be there in twenty minutes whether she liked it or not.

Kim smiled a little at the text before sighing and returning to the desk. She glanced at the clock, knowing it was almost always a mistake. It was almost never as late as it felt.

"Bored?"

Kim swiveled around at the voice and saw one of the nurses watching her with amusement.

Kim smiled sheepishly and shrugged. Yes, she was bored. But she couldn't really admit that out loud.

"Want a job?" Grace asked.

"Sure," Kim said, always eager to have a specific task to work on.

"I have a patient who has been confined to his room all day. He's getting a little antsy. Do you think you could maybe wheel him out here and read to him?" Grace asked hopefully.

"Sure," Kim shrugged. "I'd love to. What room?"

"204. His name is Billy Walter. The book is already on his nightstand. If you could just read to him for even twenty minutes I think that would be great for him."

"Of course," Kim answered. "I'll head over."

"Thanks, Kim!"

Kim smiled as she cleaned up the desk a little and then stood up to find the room.

She knocked as she entered, finding a man sitting in a wheelchair staring out the window.

"Hi, Mr. Walter," Kim greeted. "My name is Kim. Nurse Grace said you might like to read with me?"

The man let out a "humph" and glanced he back in Kim's direction.

Kim's smile faltered a little at the reaction, but she didn't let it stop her. She had been working in the hospital long enough to know how to deal with patients like this.

"Would it be alright if I wheeled you down the hall?" Kim asked in as sweet a voice as she could manage.

"No," the man gruffed out.

"Oh," Kim said, a little surprised. "Are you sure? It might be nice to have a change of scenery. We won't go far."

"I said no, girl," he grunted.

"Okay," Kim answered quickly, trying to pacify him. "That's okay. You won't mind me reading in here, will you?"

"Whatever," he muttered.

Kim sighed, wishing she could help the man feel a little happier. She really believed a change of scenery would do him good, but if he refused to be moved, she couldn't move him.

Kim found a book on his end table and picked it up, noticing a bookmark about halfway through. She took a seat on the chair in the corner and began reading.

"'For if we are our own force, we are also a servant of the forces of the dead. So we have to be bold enough to live with all the magical forces at loose between the living and the dead-'"

Mr. Walter muttered quietly but Kim couldn't hear what he was saying, so she ignored it and continued.

Kim had almost reached the end of the page when Mr. Walter spoke again.

"Shut up, already will you?" he groaned, still quiet, but just loud enough that Kim picked out the words.

It took her a second to process them and when she did, she was confused.

"I-I'm sorry?" she said.

"You're reading it all wrong," Mr. Walter accused, never even looking at Kim.

"Well… how would you like me to read it?"

"The right way," he spat.

"Why don't you read it?" Kim offered kindly. "You read, I'll listen."

Mr. Walter spat at the idea and turned around. "That's a stupid idea coming out of your stupid mouth."

Kim was less offended, she knew this man had Alzheimer's, and was more confused. She had never heard Mr. Walter being so… blunt and rude before.

"I'm sorry to offend you," Kim said, not really sure how she had done anything wrong. "Do you not want to read?"

Although it was probably good for him, Kim was willing to stop if that is what Mr. Walter really wanted. Sometimes it was better to just let a patient wallow in their misery for a little.

"Do I want to read? Of course not!" Mr. Walter yelled, causing Kim to jump a little at the outburst. "All I ever do is read," he gritted out. "I want out! I want to get out of this chair!"

Mr. Walter gripped the handles on his chair, shakily pushing himself to his feet. He wasn't paralyzed, just very weak and had little control over his own legs.

"Mr. Walter, perhaps you should sit back down," Kim tried, standing up to help guide the man back into his chair. He could really hurt himself if he fell.

"Don't touch me!" he roared, effectively stopping Kim in her tracks.

Mr. Walter had a wild look inside his eyes that said he wasn't totally there. Kim was frightened now. He was unpredictable and mad. She wasn't even sure why, so it would be nearly impossible to talk him down.

"All you people ever do is read!" Mr. Walter shouted, snatching the book out of Kim's shaking hands. He gripped the book in such a tight fist some of the pages crinkled and ripped. Then, without any warning, he threw the book at the wall.

Kim looked at the door but couldn't make it there without passing by Mr. Walter. Scared, she shuffled to the bed and pressed the call button repeatedly while Mr. Walter continued walking around, muttering to himself and ripping the sheets off the bed, throwing things around, and occasionally shouting something incoherent.

It only took a few moments for someone to answer the call and open the door.

Grace took in the scene immediately, seeing Mr. Walter having an episode and a frightened Kim trapped in the back corner of the room.

She called out for help and soon two male nurses and one of the surgeons appeared.

"Are you okay, Kim?" Grace asked over the ruckus Mr. Walter was making, looking for any sign of injury.

Kim nodded her head. "I'm fine. I don't know what happened, I was just reading to him, and then-"

"I don't want to read!" Mr. Walter shouted loudly, kicking the bed. Kim flinched, backing further into the wall.

"We need to restrain him," Grace said, nodding toward Kim.

"We can't," one of the other nurses said. "He isn't hurting anyone. It's hospital policy. We have to respect his rights."

Grace pursed her lips, cursing hospital policy. "What are we supposed to do, then?"

"I want out!" Mr. Walter shouted, pushing the hospital bed with more force than Kim would have thought he had. The force had knocked a monitor down, shattering on the ground by Kim.

"Kim, get over here," Grace called, thinking firstly of getting Kim to safety.

Kim tried to get to the door, but she wanted to give Mr. Walter a wide berth and the bed was now angled so that now Kim was trapped in the corner.

"I don't want to read!" Mr. Walter spat, continuing on his rampage. He destroyed expensive machinery with every swipe of his hand, but nobody could do anything. His own rights as a patient made it nearly impossible to do anything but contain his outburst.

The door opened wide as another figure appeared in the doorway, this one not dressed in scrubs, but in a casual outfit.

"Kim!" Jack gasped, quickly assessing the disturbing scene. "Why are you all just standing there!"

"We can't do anything," one of them defended weakly. "The legal charges are too great to interfere with a patient's rights."

Jack gaped at the group briefly before turning back to Kim. He didn't care if they weren't allowed to interfere, Kim was trapped and scared and nobody was helping her.

Stepping into the doorway, Jack quickly assessed the situation.

"Okay, Kim when I say so I want you to come on this side of the bed, okay?"

Kim nodded, watching Jack with trust.

"Okay," Jack said, watching Mr. Walter manically rage around the room. "Now!"

Kim pushed off her spot near the wall and raced around the bed, wincing as she passed by Mr. Walter.

"Stupid girl!" Mr. Walter growled, raising a hand to strike Kim.

Jack was close enough to throw his arm over Kim's chest, shove her back, and catch Mr. Walter's hand.

Jack adjusted his grip on Mr. Walter's hand and him around in a manner that he was thoroughly restrained but relatively unharmed.

One of the nurses hurried forward with a syringe, carefully injecting Mr. Walter while another rushed forward to catch Mr. Walter before he could fall to the ground.

With Mr. Walter unconscious, Jack turned around to face Kim.

She had fallen down the wall and onto the floor from the force of Jack shoving her back and now she was staring up at Jack wide-eyed.

Jack knelt in front of her, grabbing her under the arms and lifting her to her feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked, scanning her body.

Kim nodded, although she couldn't find the words to say anything just yet.

She gulped as she looked at the scene behind her. Nurses had flooded the room to deal with Mr. Walter and another one approached her.

"You're Kim, right?" she asked, looking Kim over in Jack's arms.

Kim nodded, not recognizing this particular nurse.

"Why don't we step into another room?" she suggested, looking at Jack and Kim.

The pair nodded and Jack helped Kim into the hall and onto a chair.

The nurse gave Kim a quick check-up, asking her a few questions if things hurt, looking at her head, and checking for bruises. It only took a few minutes and the nurse assured both of them that Kim was fine. She left them, telling them to take as long as they needed and that she would take care of everything so Kim could leave whenever.

When they were finally alone, Jack took Kim's hand and sat in the chair next to her.

"Crazy day?" he asked, unsure what else to say.

Kim shrugged, trying to not think about everything too hard.

Jack must have seen the slight drop on her face at what was supposed to be lighthearted and bring a smile.

"I see," he sighed. "Come on," he said, standing up and holding out a hand for her. "Your sandwich is in the nurses' lounge. You can tell me all the horrible things while we drink our lemonade."

Kim smiled, a small, but genuine smile, as she took Jack's hand.

Jack pulled her up quickly, her momentum sending her right into his chest as he gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"So, what happened first? Evil ex-wife came to unplug her kids' stepmother's life support? Runaway from the psych ward?"

"Crazy and rude mother of a patient," Kim offered. "She was so mean."

"Tell me."

Kinda short, just a sweet little interaction between Jack and Kim. Also again, I'm not an expert in medical protocol. I remembered hearing my uncle and cousin briefly talk about patients' rights and how in a mental hospital he worked at they weren't allowed to intervene if the patients were just breaking expensive equipment because of their rights. Only if they were hurting someone could they do anything to the patient. So that's where this idea came from.

Again let me know what you think, any ideas you have, anything you wanna share! Happy New Year!