Midnight ☆ L.H (au)

twelve

8:17 am - ANASTASIA BYNES

"Anastasia, have you gotten the chance to stop by the ICU? there is a John Doe patient that needs their vitals done."

I grabbed the patient monitor and began rolling it towards the elevator, thanking the nurse kindly. It was definitely busier than usual today, but it was a weekend—nothing unusual, I suppose. They called me in to do vitals—something I wasn't used to doing. I was thrown into doing the medical assistants' job because it was too busy.

As I walked slowly down the hall, I double-checked the chart to see that I was heading in the right direction. I knock on the glass sliding door, pulling the curtain with it as I pull it to the side.

"Mister Doe? I'm Anastasia, and I'm going to be taking some blood sampl-."

My heart drops to my stomach, the clipboard clattering to the floor as I see who's before me.

Holy shit.

The same boy Luke had fought a few hours before, was now laid in bed with tubes emitting from his nose and mouth. He is unconscious, his chest rising and falling with the aid of a ventilator. The sight is unsettling, but I know that I have to focus and stay calm.

As I move closer to the bed, I can't help but feel a sense of dread wash over me.

"What happened to him? Will he be okay?" I murmured to the nurse, who sat in a chair next to him, my words barely audible. She looks at me with a concerned expression and takes a moment to gather her thoughts before answering.

"We don't know, seems to be an assault. Police are opening an investigation... but no witnesses have come forward. He sustained some serious injuries and is currently waking up from being unconscious for so long. But we are doing everything we can to help him...." The nurse's words are concise and reassuring, but the gravity of the situation is too much for me to fully comprehend. She hands me the chart, my eyes quickly bouncing between the words on the sheet.

John Doe #716

Admitted at 1:23 AM. Found on Barbara Street by a bystander who discovered him unconscious. CT scans show trauma to the head and neck; subconjunctival hemorrhage appeared on both eyes. The patient is now awake and unable to recall the events leading up to the incident or his name.

The chart in my hand is nearly shaking as I study it next to his bed. I skim over the notes and scans, trying to make sense of the information. But the reality of the situation is becoming more and more apparent, and I feel my breath catching in my throat.

"Okay, I'm just here to run some vitals."

The nurse stretches, standing up and smoothing her scrubs before sighing, "Fine with me... I'll be at the station if you need me for anything."

As she left, she closed the curtain, and I slipped on a pair of gloves.

I take a deep breath and try to steady myself, but my hands are still trembling. I turn to face the boy and begin checking his vitals, my eyes scanning over the various machines that surround him. The steady beeping of the monitors fills the room with an eerily quiet noise, making it all too clear that we are living in a moment of uncertainty.

I take his blood pressure and pulse, making a note of the results on his chart, all the while trying not to think about what this could mean for Luke. The thought of this poor kid dying because of him is almost too much to bear, and I have to fight back the tears that threaten to fall.

"Is she gone?" He suddenly mumbled, peeking through a crusted eye to look at me. I jump back, clutching my chest, before letting out a relieved sigh.