Realistic or Modern A Night at the Hospital

[seasonedcat]

the night continued the same as always, the TV's background murmur mixed with the occasional conversation. Names were called every now and then, and a lucky patient managed to get called to be seen after their long waiting. The night shift had just started, and lucky nurses and doctors finally getting off after a long day of way too much work for not enough pay. The cycle continued as it always did, another name, another tick of the clock.

light snow fell outside, a risk of a snowstorm the tv said, as they said every night up here. It was chilly, around -45 outside, the ski lodge just closing as the sun had almost cleared itself out of the sky. It really was just another boring night, one you were now stuck spending in a hospital as you wait to be treated. The spotty public wifi sputtered in and out at times, and the snowfall committing to this, as well as the wifi that did this even when the sky was clear.

just another day, the only issue was this wasn't going to last long. How many more ticks of the clock until it changes? Had it already happened? What was happening just out of view for you? Your clock ticked to another minute as your time continued moving forward. The real question is if you would make it through the night. How many of the people around you would make it through the night? How long would it be until you left this hospital? Maybe never again... but for you, all that matters is the ticking of the clock as you wait for time to pass.

 

[BriiAngelic]

• Sebastian Alexis Dufort || Psychiatric Aide

• 
  
  
  
  Directly Interacting With:
  No one yet
  
  Indirectly Interacting With:
  THE REST OF YOU FUCKERS
  

  ~ The Psych Ward ~
  ~ Nightshift || ??? PM ~
  
  The Beginning of a Happy Life || Sebastian's CS File
  
  The click clack of the clocks in this place were enough to drive him mad. He could only imagine how much worse it was for his actual patients. He hopped on the desk his legs danggling down and almost reaching the floor. He was already scrubbed in and started so he didnt miss the side eye another aide gave him as he leaned back grabbing his assignment for the night off the bulletin board.
  
  His clipboard already had some papers shoved in it. He was grateful he worked he long enough that they knew it was often better to just strap him with work from the get go. He kicked off the nurse’s desk and stood up clipboard in hand as he scanned his duties. He nearly went to switch with another aide’s in the hopes he arrived early enough to bamboozle them. He reached for one before-
  
  “Don’t even think about it Dufort.”
  
  He looked back to see one of his senior aides pointing at him from across the hall.
  
  “Aw C’mon I’ve had feeding and linen duty for the last TWO weeks.”
  
  He dropped his hand knowing he wasn’t getting out of this without some major bribery and offers to switch.
  
  “Learn how to talk to people and maybe you’ll get better positions.”
  
  “MY PATIENTS LIKE ME FINE.”
  
  “YEAH AND YOU’RE A PAIN IN YOUR COWORKERS ASSES.”
  
  She shouted before grabbing her own assignment, the premium job Vitals, and passing down the hall to start her shift.
  
  “ENJOY YOU OLD BAT”
  
  Before he could listen for the shouts that were surely to come he quickly ran to the elevator and scanned for access to unlock his needed areas. Time to get washing.
  

 

[Grosso Nerdo]

"11, 9, 8, 7, 6 and the... 4. Okay."
Perfect, now that the scalpels were sterile and ordered by size, Lance could go and do his next task. At times like these, when there was no work needed at the morgue, he had been making himself useful in sterilizing tools, handling medication dosages and ensuring that his files were properly ordered (they were, but he had to make sure). He walked out of that surgical storage room and headed for his theater, he had some biohazardous material he could carry to the incinerator. Typically, the cleaning crew would handle it, but it was low in their priority list and it would certainly lighten their load. He knew that many of his colleagues looked down on custodians, a great shame. Without them, the hospital would simply grind to a halt and it could be argued that they prevented more diseases than any antibiotics that was ever prescribed here.

The morgue was composed of two adjoined rooms, linked by an airtight door and a glass panel. The first room was Lance's office, there he kept necessary files and necessary tools, like an electric kettle. The second room was where the bodies were stored until they would be recovered by families or until surgery needed them for a transplantation or such. It was very cold and could smell when he was using preservatives or strong disinfectants. There were only two current resident to the morgue, an old lady who died of sepsis and an accident victim which no one claimed, the later would soon probably be handed away to be incinerated.

Speaking of incinerations, the biohazard bin was by the door, Lance swooped in and grabbed it, then went back out and headed for the elevator, which was closing as he arrived. He didn't like to rush, but it simply was more optimal to do so in that situation. He managed to get to it before it went down and the doors opened for him, he heard some choice words behind him, probably not aimed at him so he paid it no mind. Then he came to see who was in the elevator and everything made more sense.

"Oh. Hey Sebastian, start of your shift I presume ?"

 

[noil]

Andi Lane​

The drone of flourescent lights overhead drowned out the background noise of the adjascent rooms, just as the stark light of them seemed to drown out color from the sterile white tones of the hospital. Andi had been in his fair share of emergency rooms for similar situations to the one he was currently in, but this one felt particularly bleak for reasons he couldn't quite put a finger on. Maybe it was because none of his so-called friends had deigned to come along for his unplanned ride down off the slopes.

The painkillers they had given him had finally kicked in, managing to reduce the pain in his right arm to a dull ache. A nurse was rattling off what were probably important intructions as they adjusted the velcro straps of the splint newly strapped to Andi's arm, but Andi's attention was taken up by his phone's screen. He swiped off of the text chain to his parents - still no reply there, big surprise - to bring up the friend group chat.

There had been a brief period of edited screencaps and gifs bouncing back and forth following Adam's upload of GoPro footage of Andi's wipeout. Mercifully, the barrage had died out as everyone quickly got back to their vacation activities without him. It looked like he'd been out of service for a while, though. The last reply had come through over an hour ago.

Andi frowned at the no service icon taunting him from the top of the screen. He'd given up on the hospital's public wifi as useless soon after coming in, and it seemed the last shreds of connection to the outside world had finally given up on trying to make their way through the gathering storm outside. His group would have made their way back to the lodge by now, he had to wonder if they were beginning to question what was taking him so long.

"Are we done here?" Andi asked with a sigh as he shoved his worthless device back in his pocket, a subtle Quebec accent marking his words. "I got places to be."

 

[BriiAngelic]

• Sebastian Alexis Dufort || Psychiatric Aide

• 
  
  
  
  Directly Interacting With:
  Lance ( Grosso Nerdo )
  
  Indirectly Interacting With:
  THE REST OF YOU FUCKERS
  

  ~ The Elevator ~
  ~ Nightshift || ??? PM ~
  
  Can't Sleep Love || Sebastian's CS File
  
  He threw himself into the elevator full force luckily missing knocking into its current occupant. Without even looking to see who else was in with him he let out a groan before letting himself slide down the elevator to the floor of the lift.
  
  "Oh. Hey Sebastian, start of your shift I presume ?"
  
  With a glance up at the familiar sound, he shifted his expression from annoyance to a more even exhausted expression. Lance was one of the few ones he enjoyed the presence of regardless of his earlier irritation.
  
  “Uggh, Yup. Another damn day of laundry and serving shit class meals. Feels like I’m in a permanent loop of punishment. The boss plays favorites…”
  
  The sound of the dings hit as each level passed. Each time a new person walked in he simply scooched closer to the corner of the elevator doing his best to ignore anyone other than Lance.
  
  “It’d be less annoying if it had justification, what type of crap reason is personality clashes? I have to work more with others in these positions. If you dislike me then stick me where I can work alone!”
  
  His face started to shift into a pout as he ranted more before letting out a sigh and leaning back while stretching out his legs.
  
  “What about you? Been at it for a while or just starting?”
  
  

 

[Lost Echo]

Jodie watched as her little one’s breathing evened out into sleep. It had been a long day for her, but she’d been so brave. Especially as she looked so small. The IV was placed in the back of her hand, and taped down to keep it from moving. She’d held still, making hiccuping noises instead of crying. Jodie promised it would help, but she’d felt like crying herself.

That feeling had been prevailing ever since her tiny body had started to vomit. She couldn’t help feeling as if it were her fault. If she had picked a better daycare or—Jodie cut those thoughts off, closing her eyes to keep the burning of potential tears in. The last thing she wanted was for her little one to see her cry.

Leaning forward, she placed a kiss on her forehead—grateful the temperature already seemed to be cooling. With a promise she wouldn’t be long, she stood up, smoothing down her yellow dress before walking into the bright lights of the hallway.

With the door closed, she leaned against it, her eyes closed. The devastation and worry shadowed her face before she took a deep breath. A walk would help her keep it together. Pushing off the door, she gave a smile to the nurses at the station, gesturing to Taylor’s in specific she’d be right back. Then she made her way to the elevator, hesitating before pressing the button. She’d wander for a bit before returning.

((I realize the likelihood of it being the same elevator is slim, but I figured I'd let you guys decide how much creative license we'd take.))

 

[noil]

Andi Lane​

Some time later Andi found himself making his way back to the reception area of the ER. His green puffer jacket hung loosely around his shoulders, its donning having been thwarted by the sling that now hugged Andi's right arm close to his body. He shifted the limb uncomfortably as he walked, eager to be free of its restriction, but the nurse's strict admonishment to keep the break elevated was still too fresh for him to act on the impulse.

It looked like there was a bit of a traffic jam ahead, too many people clogging up the hallway space in front of the main elevators. As Andi strolled up on the scene, a doctor on the edge of the crowd gave up on the wait time, spinning on a heel to make for the stairway instead. Andi narrowly dodged their impatient stride, side-stepping over to the wall to wait out the cluster.

It wasn't like he was going anywhere fast in any case. He was going to have to find a landline he could convince someone to let him use, and even then, with the storm picking up outside it was dishearteningly unlikely that he would be able to convince his friends to come pick him up any time soon.

 

[Lost Echo]

The elevator had never felt so suffocating before. Alone apart from her worries, the ride was slow and awful. Jodie paced the small space, before stopping and leaning against the wall. Wrsapping her arms around herself, she murmured this too would end. And as if by magic, she felt the falling jerk signalling her stop. She couldn’t help her smile at the coincidence.

As the doors opened, she was immediately bombarded by an crowd of waiters. An impatient few attempted to rush past her, but she shifted her hip to the side, forcing them to pause to avoid actually running into her. “Excuse you. You can wait for me to get off.” Stepping forward with confidence, the crowd split around her reforming as too many people tried to fill the elevator. “Doctors and patients first.” She called, using her librarian’s voice. “The visitors can wait for the next one.” She watched as the cowed adults shifted their behavior, though one intrepid visitor got on with the rest of the white coated people. With a sigh at humanity, she turned too look at the remaining folk with a smile, “Thank you. I'm surprised they don't have more elevators.”