Chapter Text
Ring!
The soft sound of the bell hanging above the door cut through the heavy silence of the empty hospital like a knife. The thunder rumbled slightly through the cool night air, foreshadowing a distant storm. Hopefully it wasn’t anywhere close, because that was when the weird patients decided to come out.
The secretary on duty sighed heavily, setting her phone down and sitting up from leaning on the front desk. She ran a hoof through the fluffy black fleece on her head, doing her best to make it look more presentable to whoever was coming in so late at night. She adjusted her sunglasses, glancing back at the coffee machine.
Goddamnit. It was still making.
“Excuse me, miss? I’d like to visit someone.”
The secretary glanced up at the animal in front of her, not even caring to shoot them a small smile. It was way too late for her to even act like she cared. She turned in her office chair, scooting it over to the space by the corner computer. She picked up an empty form and clipboard, attaching it to the paper. She then held it out to the cat in front of her.
“Fill this out in the waiting room. Bring it back when you're done,” she instructed, tapping her hoof on the table impatiently. The cat pursed their lips, cutting them a seemingly resentful glance as they walked to a seat. Oh well. She couldn’t find it in her to actually give a flying fuck.
But while the cat was busy, she needed to see if the visitor was… well… dangerous. She turned toward the security guard in the back, who was looking through the camera feed. When she saw him click on the lobby camera, she spoke up.
“Clean?”
“Clean.”
When they had finally finished filling out the sheet and had their picture taken, the secretary told them that the patient was in room 8, recovering from a recent surgery. She didn’t know why that room was so frequently used since this wasn’t like that major of a hospital, but whatever.
Soon the door creaked open, and in walked the new intern.
They had small burn patches on their tanned fur and white hoodie, floppy ears drooped in exhaustion. They must've just put out a fire. They didn’t have that unnerving black smile on their face at the moment, which was quite a relief. The emptiness had always terrified the secretary.
She watched them as they came into the office, paws in their front hoodie pocket. They seemed to have a clear target in mind, tiredly stumbling towards…
The coffee machine. Where a pot had just finished making.
“Don’t. You. Dare. I’ve been waiting for that coffee for ages, and if I don’t get it right now, I’m going to end up fucking hanging myself before the shift is over,” she threatened before thrusting herself off the chair and speed walking to the table. The intern jumped out of the way in shock as she forced her way in front of them, grabbing a cup and pouring the dark liquid into it.
The security guard turned in his chair, one leg thrown over the other as his elbow rested on the small desk in front of the screen. He had a small, cheeky little smirk on his face. That was never a good sign. At all.
“Say, Nicole, when you finish that coffee, you fix the camera in the medical hall?” the security guard asked, putting his head in his paw. One of his fluffy gray ears twitched, his tail starting to wag playfully. He almost never seemed to be affected by his severe depression, but that was a story for a whole different day.
Cole wanted to crush that cup of coffee in her hoof and stab him with the shards. If ANYONE was going to be her thirteenth reason, it was this son of a bitch. A low rumble bubbled up in her throat, but she immediately downed the entire cup of coffee before she ended up being on a watch list.
+30 Sanity.
“I’ll go take care of it since this place can’t afford any maintenance apparently,” she told him, setting down the empty mug with a loud clink before shoving her hoofs in her pockets. She kicked the door closed behind her, the latch shutting closed.
The security guard laughed lowly, turning his head to look at the disappointed bunny by the table. Their sanity was running low it seemed, their hands trembling as they scratched at their chin. He could see the weariness in their expression, the guilt mixed with the ounce of fear that came when someone yelled at you.
“Hey, kid, don’t beat yourself up about it. Ms. Nicole just gets cranky when she doesn’t get her coffee. Hell, she almost impaled me with those horns of hers after I tried to pour me a cup with my chocolate bar. She claimed that I ‘wasn’t the one dealing with animals who can’t even count to ten, let alone follow instructions’. Lil’ sourpuss she is.” The guard laughed at his own joke, the intern awkwardly chuckling alongside him.
He looked up at the bunny, his smirk softening into something that was almost something like a smile. He was fond of this shy, silent, awkward little guy. They were just trying to do their best; keep a steady job. Even if the soulless black eyes were definitely strange, they were just another one of them. Taking any job they could get.
“Why don’t you go help the nurse? She’d love the extra hands.” The intern perked up slightly at the suggestion, their fluffy ears straightening back up. He grinned, that terrifying black void showing through the fluffy fur. They liked helping the other employees. It was fun, and passed the time. They turned to the door, waving back at the guard before exiting the front office. They just had to find her. And just like every other time, she was probably taking care of one of the patients.
- - -
“Did the surgery go right? Is my dad gonna be okay…?” The cat in room 8 asked the nurse, their paws clutching a bouquet of flowers.
The nurse on duty smiled at them, her eyes crinkling slightly at the corners.
“Mr. Cohan is going to be better than ever, ma’am. He’s just resting off the anesthesia” she reassured softly, her voice as gentle as ever. She placed a paw on her shoulder, careful to not overstep any boundaries. “You can go stand by his side if you’d like. I’m sure he would be happy if you were the first thing he saw.”
The cat nodded slightly, slowly making her way over to the hospital bed’s side. Her paws tightened her hold to the stems, making them tear slightly. She felt… scared. What if her dear old dad never woke up? But the heart monitor still beeped consistently, reminding her that he was still alive, against all odds.
The nurse began to clean up quietly, gathering the bloodied instruments used for the patient's surgery and placing them near the cleaning station. The surgeon had handled the delicate task of removing, placing, and fixing, but she had to handle the cleanup of the aftermath.
But before she could begin, she heard a soft knock on the door. Her floppy white ears perked up slightly from their relaxed position, head turning toward the door. Was it another visitor coming to see him? If so, this needed to be the last one, since there was a limit of only two visitors.
As she went to open the door, she jumped visibly as seeing not a worried animal, but emotionless voided eyes. Holy shit, they needed to stop jump scaring her.
“Oh, hey, Izel! I didn’t expect to see you,” she told them as she clicked open the door to let them in, the hinges creaking from rust. She stepped aside as Izel walked in, paws tucked in their pocket. They instinctively looked around the room, seeing the situation they had walked into. A young girl crying over some animal who looked like they were on the verge of death.
The nurse adjusted her glasses a bit awkwardly, just trying to find something to do with her paws. She didn’t really know why they were in here, but she did feel the need to ask why.
“Do you want to help me or something…?” she asked a bit hesitantly, not entirely sure if she could trust them with a task like that. But it was just sterilizing a scalpel and stuff, so it couldn’t be that bad.
Izel turned when they heard the offer, their grin widening disturbingly. That had been the main reason they had come, so they were glad they didn’t have to get that message to her.
And when they nodded at her, she gulped down the phlegm that had risen in her throat.
“Alright then, you can clean the scalpel and the scissors. Make sure to sterilize them thoroughly and put them in their containers.” With the instructions out of the way, she could finally get the hell out of that room. She didn’t have any hate for the new intern, but something about them just made her have an unsteady feeling in her gut. She hated that sensation.
So with that, she left Izel to their own accord. Hopefully she won't regret it.
The nurse turned the door handle on the office entrance after walking through the empty white hall, pushing it open and walking in. The fluorescent lights flickered as she made her way to the small side table. Her sanity was starting to run a bit low, so she was hoping some coffee was ready.
But sure enough, the machine was still running.
Cole flinched at the sound of the door opening, her head snapping to where the nurse had come in. Her eyes widened, ears flopping down with a bit of fluster. She quickly sat up in her chair, fixing a patch of fleece before she noticed. If she had skin visible under that thick wool, she would be blushing like a little school girl.
“N-Naomi, hey! Did you want some coffee? I would offer you the rest of mine, but I kind of… drank it all,” she spurted out, hastily putting her head in her hand to look cool and nonchalant.
Naomi offered her a weary smile, going to get herself some water instead. She grabbed one of the many paper cups by the water dispenser by the taser charging area, pushing down the knob and filling her cup. She took a long sip of it, sighing as she felt the cool liquid run down her throat.
“That’s alright, Cole. I understand how hard manning the reception can get.” She tossed the empty paper into the trash, one hand lifting to fix her nurses hat.
The security guard finally lifted his head from his phone, which was obnoxiously loudly playing the soundtrack of Plants vs. Rabies. That game had died off forever ago, but he was still obsessed with it for some reason.
“You can have the rest of my chocolate bar, babes. I’m not gonna finish it, and it’s kinda melty. But it gets the job done,” he said without even sitting up from slouching in his chair. He gestured to a wrapped half a candy bar, the wrapper crinkled with patches of melted chocolate.
Babes? Seriously? Nicole was actually so close to just killing this guy. The only thing holding her back from actually just castrating him was the fact he was gay and already dating someone.
“Thanks Sawyer. You’re the best.” Naomi picked up the candy bar, taking a bite off it and savoring the sweetness. She quickly finished the rest of the chocolate, using a napkin to wipe off any excess that stuck to her fur. Damn it. Now Cole couldn’t volunteer to just lick it off.
+45 Sanity.
As she was lost in the beauty of Naomi, she suddenly heard a new voice behind her.
“Hello friend! Could you get me a coffee? It’s been a long day…”
She could already feel the entitlement before she even turned around. She groaned internally, turning around to see who she was dealing with. The fluffy white rabbit had his smile hidden under a bushy brown mustache, one ear flopped over a hat. She was tempted to just close the shutters on this fatass, but that would be ‘rude’ and ‘unwelcoming’ according to company policy.
“Sorry, sir, but the coffee is for employees only.”
The fluffy rabbit visibly tensed slightly, but retained the calm demeanor.
“Well, I’m sure you can relate to this, but I’ve had a hard day, and I really need a pick-me-up. But this is the only place for miles that has coffee. So, will you turn a blind eye? Just this once?”
Manipulation tactics were being used once again.
But Cole didn’t need her coffee, and neither did any of the others, so she could spare this one cup. So she got up, ears drooping as she waited for the coffee to be done. She tapped her hoof on the table, impatient as ever.
But the rabbit was quite the opposite. He just stood there, patiently waiting for his coffee. He seemed a bit too happy for the day he had supposedly had. But something caught his attention, a sound coming from the west wing. A sound of paws meeting carpet floors. His flopped ear perked up, head turning.
His heart stopped.
A beautiful, tan furred rabbit came out from the medical hall, water dripping from their fur and clothes. They had a grumpy look on their otherwise blank expression as they wrung the soak from their ears. A broken pipe had probably just taken its anger out on them, but that didn’t make them any less alluring.
He could feel his breathing quicken in his lungs, heart trying to escape its bone cage, a fluttering sensation against his chubbed stomach. His ears flopped completely over his hat, fluffy little tail poking out from his pants starting to sway in steady motions. Why did he feel so… full of energy? It was different from a coffee feeling, much more… organic. Natural. He felt like he was being yanked into hell, all while angels with wings of pink pulled him out. He could feel the moon chasing after the sun, desperate for an embrace that would never truly come. All these feelings, they all had a theme to them.
Did he just… fall in love?