TIDES OF FATE - JJ Maybank

XXIII. What the fuck happened?

:･ﾟ✧:･.☽˚｡･ﾟ✧:･.:

3rd person POV

Kildare general hospital was a place Lily spent a lot of her time in. When she was younger, her mom would bring her into work when she couldn't find a babysitter and when she got older, the majority of her week was spent roaming the halls as a volunteer. She had been a patient here and visited her reckless friends more times than she could count. Point being, a part of her found comfort in the complex building. She grew up here, so it was hard to believe that the very place that helped raise her made her feel like a child all over again.

Lillian had just arrived at said hospital early that morning, just as the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, casting a warm, golden light across the parking lot. The familiar buzz of the hospital greeted her as she walked through the sliding glass doors, the faint aroma of coffee mingling with the crisp, clean scent of the corridors.

She headed straight to the nurses' station, where her mom was already busy reviewing patient charts. "Morning, Mom," Lillian greeted, smiling brightly as she approached.

"Morning, Lily. You're just in time," her mom replied, looking up with a warm smile. "We've got a few things to take care of before it gets busy."

Lillian nodded, slipping on a pair of latex gloves as she followed her mom to one of the examination rooms. The first patient of the day was a little boy, no older than seven, with tear-streaked cheeks and a fresh scrape on his knee. He'd fallen off his bike on his way to school, and while the injury wasn't severe, it was enough to require a few stitches.

"Hi there," Lillian said gently, crouching down to the boy's level. "What's your name?"

"Tommy," he sniffled, clutching his mom's hand tightly.

"Well, Tommy, you're in good hands," she assured him, giving him a reassuring smile. "We're just going to clean up that scrape and put a few stitches in, and you'll be as good as new. You're really brave, you know that?"

Tommy nodded hesitantly, his lower lip trembling but his tears beginning to subside. Lillian's mom moved efficiently, cleaning the wound and preparing the needle and thread while Lillian kept Tommy distracted with stories of her own biking mishaps as a kid.

"You know, I fell off my bike so many times when I was your age," Lillian confessed with a grin. "One time, I even crashed right into a bush because I wasn't paying attention!"

Tommy giggled, the sound helping to ease the tension in the room. "Did it hurt?"

"It sure did," Lillian replied, nodding seriously. "But I got back up and tried again, just like you're going to do. And now, I'm practically a pro at biking."

With Lillian's gentle encouragement and her mom's steady hands, the stitches were done before Tommy even realized it. "All done!" Lillian's mom said, securing the final knot.

Tommy looked down at his knee, a mixture of awe and relief on his face. "That wasn't so bad."

"You did great," Lillian praised, giving him a high-five. "Now, how about a sticker for being so brave?"

Tommy's eyes lit up as Lillian handed him a superhero sticker, and he left the room beaming, his earlier tears all but forgotten.

As the morning went on, Lillian continued to help with small tasks—restocking supplies, fetching charts, and assisting the nurses wherever she could. It wasn't a particularly busy day, but there was always something to do, and she loved being part of the team, even if it was just for a few hours.