Mishaps of Midsummer

Day 1

The day began like any other... Wrecker woke at his usual time, which was an hour earlier than anyone else. He did a quick work out, showered, and then dressed. He ate a healthy breakfast protein shake, and then began to pack his lunch for the day. Humming lightly to himself, he packed his tote bag cooler for the day. He poured hot water into two mugs for his brothers and pulled out the bread and the toaster so it would be ready for them. Tech was the first to appear, a tie in his hand as he yawned and stretched, and entered the kitchen. "Morning," he said softly.

"Good morning. Anything special going on today?" Wecker asked.

Tech sighed as he poured out the hot water from his mug and poured in the coffee. "Nothing too much. There is a group of university students taking a tour of the hospital, and then a local charity is coming by for something or other..." He took a sip and winced as he burned his tongue. "Every morning..." As the hospital administrator, he oversaw most everything and had to keep everyone happy. The donors, the department heads, doctors, nurses and orderlies. Keeping in touch with the patient's needs was also a taxing job, but it was important to him to feel like he was really helping people, not just keeping the hospital above the red.

Echo was the next to appear, freshly shaved and showered, a few of his buttons undone on his shirt, and his clip on tie between his teeth. He set it down on the counter and said, "A little help here?"

Wrecker took a step forward and straightened Echo's shirt, and chuckled a little. "You crossed your buttons again..." He fastened the top one and clipped in his tie. Echo rolled his eyes at his silly mistake. "I've seen you do much worse with two hands," he shot back.

"It was one time!" Wrecker cried in defense. He knew exactly the situation Echo was referring to.

"Still happened." He turned to get his coffee and toast from the counter.

Echo was a counselor at the hospital with a specialty in veterans from all walks of life. He had served in a war overseas and lost his legs, and part of an arm. It had been years since his near death experience and he came close to choosing a life of solitude and bitterness. But with the help of his brothers, he came out living life to the fullest and helping others. Body image issues still plagued him at times, but he was confident enough to start dating. There were a few girls, but no one serious yet.

"Bus leaves in five minutes," Wrecker called as he exited the kitchen and to the garage for his shoes. Wrecker drove a massive pickup, not out of vanity, but necessity. His six foot five inch frame was near impossible to fit into smaller cars. His legs alone took up so much room and he didn't want to feel like a sardine in a tin can. He'd never been in a car accident, but he didn't want to find out what it felt like to be pried out of a car with the "jaws of life" by the fire department.

With the exception of Crosshair and Hunter, Wrecker had the most comfortable clothes to wear to work. He wore a collared sport tech shirt with sweatpants and sneakers. His strong shoulders and near perfect posture made his shirt look sculpted to his body. He was a physical therapist certified for acute and inpatient rehabilitation. He mostly saw veterans but occasionally he would have an old lady who had fallen and busted her hip, or an old man hurt from fishing. Despite his size, or maybe because of his size, Wrecker was very good at his job. Always cheerful and gentle when he needed to be, he established excellent relationships with his patients. If a veteran was wallowing in self pity, Wrecker would apply the right amount of tough love to bring him, or her, out of their pit. With the old ladies, he was nothing less than perfect and charming. They were always trying to set him up with their granddaughters or great nieces, to which he politely declined. The old men gave him a lot of respect when they saw his scars. They knew anyone who walked away from an accident such as his, and still had their compassion intact, more than deserved their respect and attention.

Wrecker checked himself in the mirror to make sure he didn't have any toothpaste stains on his face, and ran his fingertips lightly over his scars. Tech hopped in the front seat and Echo in the back. "Let's roll," Echo said as he closed the door.

Wrecker dropped Echo and Tech at the front entrance and then parked in the far corner of the parking lot. Since his truck was oversized, he parked in the back of the building, so he wouldn't have to worry about anyone parking too close and blocking him in. Swiping his badge, he came in through the back of the building and nodded in greeting at the various doctors he saw on the way. Entering the reception area of the physical therapy lab, he greeted the receptionist, Sydney Rains, or just Sid. "Good morning, Mrs. Gorgeous Sid," he said to her. Sydney Rains had worked at the hospital before Tech had taken over as hospital administrator, maybe before any of them were born. She knew anything and everything about the hospital and the latest gossip with the nurses. Back in her day, she had done a lot of work to have the hospital qualify for disabled veteran aid status. There was a lot of paperwork, red tape, donors to charm, and city officials to schmooze. The fruits of her, and many others', labor finally produced. There was a counseling center, state of the art surgery center, prosthetics lab, physical therapy lab, and many other services veterans required.

She made what resembled a smile and said, "Oh, stop, it, Mr. Muscles. You're always so cheerful. So sweet I'm getting a toothache."

She handed him a stack of folders as she winked at him. "Here are your patients for today, and you're getting a new patient from ICU. Such a tragic story- young woman in her twenties, got in a car accident but they didn't find her for eight hours." Sid was very animated as she told the story. "Gah, breaks my heart. Multiple broken bones, internal injuries, TBI. Her mother, she's a saint, has been coming to see her everyday even though she lives over three hours away." Sid adjusted her sliding glasses on her nose and poked her finger on the file for emphasis. "This one is an angel, mark my word. You better not make her cry or her mother will skin you alive and I'll help her." With that final threat, she walked back to her desk.

Wrecker raised his eyebrows and his mouth was in the shape of an "o" with how strongly Sid felt about a patient she had never seen or met. He set her file on the top of his stack as he went to his desk to begin his day.