GREEN
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- >Slowly, you awaken.
- >Head is throbbing, and your vision is blurry.
- >Your whole body is hurting, especially your back.
- >Struggling to move as your head feels like it weighs a ton.
- >As you try to get up, your leg flares up in pain.
- “Fuck!”
- >You pull back, the memories from last night start to return.
- >Carl’s death, leaving the hospital, drinking home alone, and falling apart.
- >It’s so hard to focus.
- >Sitting back down, you examine the damage you inflicted.
- >You struggle, but in the end, you focus enough to see it.
- “Thank Celestia...”
- >Only three cuts, none of them too deep, but enough to hurt like hell.
- >A distant beeping draws your attention.
- >Your alarm clock.
- “Oh shit! What time is it?”
- >As you go to move, you accidentally put pressure on the leg and immediately regret it.
- “Fuck!” You sharply inhale. “Idiot, stop doing that!”
- >Cautiously, you limp to the bedroom to see the time.
- “For fucks sake!”
- >You overslept, not by much, but enough to shorten what little time you had left.
- >Limping back, you run a cold bath in an attempt to clear your head.
- >The cold water freezes you to core and awakens you fully.
- >Gently you clean up your cuts and finish up the bath as fast as possible.
- >You’re trying your best to not cause yourself anymore pain than you already have.
- >Taking care to wrap up the wounds to the best of your ability.
- >Unfortunately, you can barely hide it under your wristband.
- >Wouldn’t take much for somepony to notice.
- “Will have to do, I don’t have time.”
- >As you put more pressure on the leg, you limp along in pain.
- >You hastily empty your bags and replace what ever else you need.
- >Still have some a minute to spare, but not enough to relax.
- >You saddle up, grab your keys and leave the disaster that is your apartment.
- >The bright sun stings your eyes and you stumble a little.
- >Whatever the effects the bath had are barely helping.
- >You know for certain your injury will impede your travel, but you try to hurry.
- >Each step flares up the pain, and you grimace each time.
- >Some ponies try to greet you, but all you can do is a half smile or nod.
- >Slowly you approach the hospital.
- >You don’t bother to stop like usual.
- >Instead you just keep repeating the words to yourself like some mad mare.
- “Do it for them Rest, do it for the patients.”
- >As you enter through the doors, you don’t bother acknowledge anypony.
- >Just have to hurry to the locker room before you’re late.
- >Seeing the nearby clock shows you have a little time to get your stuff away.
- >You barely manage to get your uniform on before Betty comes in.
- >”Rest we-”
- >Before she can continue you cut her off.
- “We will talk later alright? Just not right now.”
- >Betty looks hurt, but nods slowly.
- >”Okay, at lunch then?”
- >Without missing a beat, you nod back and head off to the group.
- >Head hurts, leg hurts, and your heart is pounding.
- >You take a moment to get yourself under control.
- >”Deep Rest, here’s your assignment.”
- >As you take the papers, you look them over.
- >Same as usual, with one exception.
- >Carl’s name is gone, and it makes your heart sink.
- >Can’t let that get to you right now, no.
- >It would get in the middle of helping others.
- >You limp along to examination.
- >A mare and her filly are your first to look over.
- >The mother gives you a brief run down of the problem.
- >Though from experience you know its best to ask the patient directly.
- “How are you feeling?”
- >She looks tired, but she coughs before talking in a small voice.
- >”My tummy hurts.”
- >She’s so cute, it helps lift your spirits.
- “Okay, well I’m going to take your temperature and then the doctor will see you. Is that okay?”
- >She nods and things go by smoothly.
- >You know today will be long.
- >At least it’s the last day of the work week.
- >Each examination goes by without hassle.
- >And before long, you go onto checking in with patients.
- >Sky is first on the list, so you pick up the pace.
- >You leg still hurts, and you’re still limping a little.
- >You need to know he is okay.
- >As you enter his room you see Mr. and Mrs. Light talking.
- >Sky is half out of it, but he gives you a small smile.
- >”Hi Rest.”
- >He sounds quite groggy, but looks a little better.
- >His parent stop talking and look over to you.
- >Mr. Light looks tired like his wife, with everything they go through, you’re not surprised.
- >>”Hello Nurse Rest, good to see you.”
- >While he isn’t there much, he does try to show up when he can.
- “Hello Mr. Light, good to see you as well.”
- >You pick up the chart and look it over.
- >Releasing a breath you didn’t know you were holding in, you feel more at ease.
- >He is improving, slowly, but it’s better than nothing.
- >Won’t be released anytime soon, but he will likely make a full recovery.
- “So, how are you feeling Sky?”
- >You start to write down the information as he talks.
- >”I’m still really tired, mom said you came by yesterday.”
- >Readings are stable, good.
- “Yes I did, though you were asleep the past two times I’ve been here.”
- >Sky gives a small frown, but continues.
- >”I’m sorry, I’m so tired.”
- >Not that you blame him, he’s been through a lot.
- “It’s okay Sky, you needed sleep to get better.”
- >He nods slowly and starts to talk again.
- >”Yeah, bu-” He begins to cough violently.
- >A quick flash of fear from yesterday hits you.
- >Training takes over and you reach him.
- >From the corner of your eye, you can see his parents looking on in worry.
- >When these happen, you can’t show your fear to the patients.
- >’You can’t save everypony.’
- >I will try at the very least.
- >His eyes bug out and he motions to you for something.
- >Immediately you grab a nearby pan and hoof it over to him.
- >Very quickly he empty's the contents of his stomach into it.
- >You gently rub his back and assist him.
- >Eventually, he gets himself back under control.
- “It’s alright, that’s normal, better?”
- >He can’t talk yet, instead he nods.
- “Well, I’ll let you rest. Be good for your parents Sky.”
- >Though he doesn’t say anything, he smiles.
- >As you’re leaving, his father stops you outside of the room.
- >>”Nurse?”
- >You turn to him while Mrs. Light tends to Sky.
- “Yes?”
- >He takes a moment, then continues.
- >>”I want to thank you for helping my son.”
- >You feel a bit surprised.
- >While you do hear this often, it sometimes catches you off guard.
- >>”You and the rest of the staff have done so much for us, so I really do mean thank you.”
- >You feel yourself smile, hopefully you can find some peace today.
- “You’re welcome.”
- >You look to Sky and his mother, he has started talking with her.
- >>”I wish I could be here more for him, but my work keeps me busy.”
- >Not too surprising, can’t imagine him fairing better than his wife.
- >You look back to Mr. Light, and nod.
- “You’re here now, that is what matters. You do a lot of him, and we do as much as we can as well.”
- >He slowly nods, and smiles.
- >>”Yeah, I know.” He shakes his head. “Sorry, I shouldn’t keep you, take care.”
- “It’s okay, and to you as well Mr. Light.”
- >Trotting off to do more of your rounds, you still have a small limp.
- >But your heart feels a little lighter.
- >Some new patients, some you recognize from earlier in the week from examinations.
- >For the most part, everything is well.
- >You finish up, and head to lunch.
- >This past week, you haven’t eaten much.
- >And that is coming back to bite you now.
- >Your stomach growls loudly.
- >Honestly, you don’t care what they’re serving.
- >You just grab the first thing you see.
- >Sitting down, you dig in and don’t notice Betty joining you.
- >”Hungry Rest?”
- >Pausing, you realize that you are eating loudly.
- “Sorry, I’ve been skipping meals, so there’s the first thing to talk about.”
- >She looks not all that surprised.
- >Sighing, she starts.
- >”I was afraid you would say that.”
- >You talk in between eating.
- “It’s been a long and stressful week. I skipped out because I couldn’t eat.”
- >Betty looks a bit angry.
- >”I see that. You left yesterday before we could talk.”
- >Deep down, you’re certain that you left early intentionally to avoid her.
- >Before you can respond, she continues.
- >”I heard what happened, and I’m sorry that he passed.”
- >Your appetite falls, so you stop and stare at her.
- >”There was nothing you could do Rest, it was old age. No pony, not even Celestia herself, could’ve stopped what happened.”
- >You know she is right, but that doesn’t stop you from feeling terrible.
- >Sighing, you rub your temples.
- “Yeah.”
- >”I came over as quick as I could after work.”
- >Instantly, you freeze.
- >Why didn’t you hear her?
- >”I knocked, but you didn’t answer.”
- >You probably were passed out by then.
- >”Rest, could you tell me what happened?”
- >No, you shouldn’t.
- >Taking a moment, you fight with yourself.
- >On one hoof, she is trying to help.
- >On the other, you’re risking her finding out about your problem.
- >Looking back to Betty, you can see she has a pleading look on her face.
- >You blink slowly and sigh.
- “I’ll explain myself after work, I’ll show you.”
- >You have to let somepony in eventually.
- >Even if it hurts, you cannot shut yourself off.
- >”Okay then, I will literally buck down your door this time if you run off.”
- >You share a laugh, it’s been a bit.
- “Alright, I promise mom.”
- >She smirks.
- >”Well, time to finish off the day then?”
- >You nod and get up with her to take care of your garbage.
- >The rest of your shift goes smoothly.
- >More vitals taken down, some equipment changed, and of course talking.
- >Your heart is still hurting from yesterday.
- >In time, you will get over it, like the many times before.
- >As your about to go write up your reports, a mare stops you.
- >”Excuse me, but are you Nurse Rest?”
- >It takes you a moment, but you recognize her.
- >It’s Carl’s granddaughter.
- “Yes I am, you must be Spring Steel.”
- >She smiles, and nods.
- >Her icy blue eyes are something she shares with Carl.
- >”That’s me, Grandpa talked about you before.” Her smile fades a little. “He told me about how you would listen to his many stories.”
- >It hurts to hear this, but maybe this is fate’s way of helping you.
- “Mhm, he told me quite a few actually.”
- >It’s now, that you notice that there is pain in her eyes.
- >As she sighs, her smile returns, albeit a bit smaller.
- >”I know we haven’t spoken before, but I wanted to thank you for being there with him. It meant a lot to have somepony listen to him.”
- >Your eyes moisten, but you try to resist.
- >Your voice almost gives as well.
- “It’s fine, you’re welcome.”
- >She tilts her head a second before she has a look of understanding.
- >”I miss him, and I can see that you do as well.”
- >Can’t really fight back these tears much longer, nor the pain in your heart.
- “Yes, yes I do.”
- >Spring closes her eyes and reopens them slowly, slightly more teary.
- >”It may be a lot of me to ask this, but maybe we can hang out sometime? I’d like to have somepony to talk with about Grandpa.”
- >You say no words and nod instead.
- >Her voice quivers a second.
- >”Thank you again, I must be going. Have a lot to do today.”
- >Your own voice fails you.
- >Everything hurts again.
- >You make your way back to finishing up your day.
- >It’s hard to do paperwork, but you manage somehow.
- >Your leg still hurts, and it’s going to be hard to explain it easily to Betty.
- >Speaking of which, she is waiting by your locker as you enter.
- “Hey.”
- >She sees the look on your face and a look of concern forms.
- >”Did something else happen today?”
- “Nothing bad, I met Spring Steel, Carl’s granddaughter.”
- >She breaths out a sigh and relaxes a little.
- >”Had me worried for a second, but I’m hoping the meeting between you two went well.”
- >It helped in some way.
- “Mhm, we talked and she asked me if we could hangout sometime. She thanked me for being there for Carl.”
- >You look down.
- >Some tears escape, and Betty touches your wither.
- >”It’s going to be alright Rest. I’ll let you get your things, then we can talk.”
- >A small part of you is screaming no.
- >It keeps saying that she will think you’re crazy.
- >It doesn’t matter, if anypony is going to find out.
- >You’d rather it be Betty.
- >Grabbing your things, the two of you leave the hospital.
- >As you trot to your apartment, she tries to talk to you.
- >”So?”
- “I’ve told you almost everything already. Like I said earlier, I will show you when I get home.”
- >She scrunches her face up, and lets go with a nod.
- >”Alright, fair enough.”
- >The two of you reach your home and enter.
- >You don’t bother to say anything.
- >Instead you walk over to the couch and drop your things.
- >Slowly, you turn to her.
- >You didn’t have time to clean up today, and now she sees it all.
- >Her eyes are going all over the place.
- >Pieces of the broken bottle lay against the wall.
- >Empty bottles on the table and an empty case.
- >You sit down and wait for her to talk.
- >Minutes pass, and eventually she starts.
- >”I had no idea it got this bad, but I should’ve.”
- >You feel some shame, but not much else.
- “You’re not a mind reader. I hid it from you.”
- >Betty shakes her head and looks a bit angry.
- >With you? No, with herself.
- >”I knew I should’ve been literal on bucking your damn door down.”
- >You give a halfhearted smile.
- “My neighbors would’ve called the guards and things would’ve gotten a lot worse.”
- >”Rest, I know you’re in pain, but this is too much.”
- >Your heart hurts more now.
- >Guess you shouldn’t have told her.
- >Before you say anything she approaches you.
- >”I mean you let too much happen to you alone, we’re supposed to be friends. You let yourself hurt this much without telling me?”
- >You look down and back up at her.
- “Yes.”
- >She gawks at you for a second, then releases a sigh.
- >Betty sits in front of you and face hoofs.
- >”You don’t have to fight this alone, you should never have to do that as long as you have a friend.”
- >With those words, you come apart at last.
- >Tears flow freely and you sob.
- >Your eyes are shut tightly and you feel Betty wrap her legs around you in a hug.
- >As she holds you, she whispers the words.
- >”Everything is going to be okay Rest, we will get through this.”
- >No point in hiding anymore.
- >You pull back, remove your wristband and your bandage to show her.
- >Her eyes widen and she is stares at the cuts.
- >Your heart beats hard in fear.
- >The wait is killing you.
- >Betty looks back at you and her voice is shaky.
- >”I wish you had told me sooner.” She gives you a gentle squeeze. “We will get you through this Rest, I promise.”
- >No words escape, and you hug her again.
- >You’re crying, but not because your in pain.
- >It’s because you’re happy you have a friend to help you.
- >You should never suffer alone.
by
NHanon
by
NHanon
by
NHanon
by
NHanon
by
NHanon