SUNSHINE

nine

[ Okay, this one is about two hundred words shorter than what I try to write, but it was a good ending place for this one. But two chapters in a few hours of each other? And I'm still planning on having another chapter out either tomorrow (or later today, however you want to look at that) or Friday, so stay tuned! Enjoy! ]

Casey found herself lying in an emergency room bay for a half hour before anyone had come to check on her. She had been brought in by ambulance, but since her injury was not as serious as the one that needed all hands on deck, she was stuck waiting. She did not mind though, for she knew how busy the emergency room was.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ms. Radcliffe, I'm Dr. Sloan." He said with a charming smile, and she could not help but laugh.

"Like Grey's Anatomy?" She asked, and that made him laugh.

"Yes, I get that a lot. I'm a Dr. Sloan who works in plastics, but my first name isn't Mark, it's Nick." He said as he sat down and put on a mask, latex gloves, and glasses so he can see the wound better. "Alright let's have a look at what we've got." He said softly, more to himself than her. "Your parents here?" He asked, trying to keep her distracted as he pulled away her sock and took out the blood soaked gauze.

"Yeah, I told them to wait in the waiting room, they don't need to see this." She answered with a laugh. She had told Riley and her coach that she was going to be fine and to just go home and she would keep them updated.

"Your scans they took when you got here show it's just a flesh wound, so I'm just gonna stitch you up right here. I'm going to numb the area, you're going to feel a couple pinches, but then nothing." He said in doctor speak, and she nodded. "How'd this happen? Do you play soccer?" He asked, referring to the uniform as she felt a few pinches of a needle and then nothing.

"Uh yeah, I had a game and it got out of hand. I came out for a ball on a breakaway and the girl kinda tripped, kinds stomped on me." Casey responded as she watched him go to work on stitching up her leg.

"I used to play keep in high school, too. I know how those work." He sighed, and she laughed.

"Yeah, kinda sucks but it happens. I'm just glad it's not as bad as it looks. We've got districts next week." She answered. He looked up for a second before looking back at the work at hand.

"You're eighteen, right? You gotta be a senior then." He asked.

"Yeah, my last day of classes is on Wednesday."

"Congratulations are in order then. Where are you going to school next year?"

"I have a full ride to Florida State based on academics and athletics."

"Well well, we have a smarty pants in the ER tonight. What are you gonna study?"

"I want to study criminal justice then hopefully law school, or that's the plan at least."

"I kind of picked you as a medical field girl, not gonna lie, but I guess I was pretty close."

"That was my other choice, but I think fighting crime in some way is more my calling than doing this everyday."

"Good for you, chase your dreams. Just be careful out there, cops might be the ones doing and receiving the actual shooting, but being a lawyer takes a lot of work, but I have a feeling you're going to be top of your class and do amazing."

"Thanks, that means a lot, actually."

"Not a problem."

"Did you always want to be a doctor?"

"The name is in the calling." He laughed at his joke before continuing. "I actually wanted to be a firefighter, and I went to the academy and everything right out of high school, but I got injured to where I wasn't allowed on the rigs anymore, so I went to school to get my medical degree."