The King’s Nurse

“What do we do in this situation here?” the deep voice of Ernesto left me sighing out heavily, a hand lifting to rub at my neck. I watched his hand drift down to an image within one of my textbooks. “How the hell do you expect me to answer when an image doesn’t give me much information Ernie?” I retort, eyes lifting to glare at him. His own expression only made me all the more frustrated, my legs crossing beneath the table as I raised a brow at him. “I’ve already told you Ana, this patient is experiencing pain on their left side, right around here..” His finger circles around the right side where the liver would be. “What are their other symptoms?” I murmured, brows furrowed as he began to list off the common symptoms, nausea, fever,chills, and the beginning signs of jaundice. “Well if it is gallstones, then they would likely need a Cholecystectomy.” I glance up to find him grinning at me, my own smile brightening up as I proudly lift my head. “There you go, I thought we would be stuck here all night.” His gaze drifted to the clock hanging in the break room. I look up with a small frown, abruptly standing as I scramble to gather my things. “Since when did it get so late?! I’m in deep s**t if I don’t make it back before Mr. Jones locks the apartment building’s front door!” Shifting, I turn to rush out the room, my foot getting caught by the leg of the chair, sending me tumbling down. Squeezing my eyes shut, I brace for a rough landing, instead warm arms catch me by the waist, steading me up before pulling away. Blinking, I offer a small, apologetic smile to Ernesto. “Careful Ana, take it easy you know Mr. Jones always waits for you anyways.” He expressed, opening the door for me. “Well yeah..but I hate making him wait up. I hope to be out of that apartment soon though as long as I pass my boards.” I linger by the door as I look back to Ernie once more. “Thanks a lot for helping me study by the way, I hope this results in a great test score.” Winking, I disappear down the hall and make the trek back home. I both loved and hated living in New York, the city life was beautiful, but not the transportation. Taking the subway wasn’t nearly as awful during the day time, but having to take it after late night shifts always left me anxious. Waiting for the train to arrive, my eyes drift around nervously, a long sigh leaving my lips as I focus once more on the train. “I don’t want to hear anymore bullshit just have it done before I return Alfy, the boss will be pissed if we don’t find them soon...no i’ll be alright, it’s just a graze. I’ll take the subway for now, just keep me updated..yeah..bye.” A graze? Curiosity was killing me, what did that man look like, he was rather loud with his phone call, did he even realize he was being so loud? I wanted nothing more than to turn around to peek at the man, see his face, curious to know what he looked like and yet I didn’t dare to look nosy. As the train pulled up to a stop and opened its doors, I quickly stepped inside and sat on the opposite end, curiously gazing up as a taller man walked in, his hair long and wavy, tanned skin beaded with sweat. He had a black suit on that seemed rather damp around the abdominal area where he held his hand at. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease, my gaze lingering before looking away, surely I was just being a little paranoid. As the train began moving, I let myself relax a bit, mind racing with all the studying I had managed to cram into my memory. There was no doubt I would pass my boards, but it still left me anxious all the same. Movement from in front of me pulled me from my thoughts, my eyes lifting to peer up at the man from earlier, concern trickling down my spine. Somehow he had slumped over, hand that was pressed to his abdomen earlier now limp beside him, covered in blood. Jumping out of my seat, I rushed over to quickly lay him down along the seats, quickly opening up his suit jacket, unbuttoning his now soaked white shirt until the source of the bleeding was exposed. “Hey there, how did this happen?” shaky hands reached into my bag, pulling out a handkerchief. “I need you to wake up sir, can you hear me?” I quickly look at the man’s face, watching his eyes flutter before glancing over to me. Forcing a smile, I gently move my hand away from the wound, glancing back down to it, brows furrowing. “How did you get hurt? It doesn’t seem jagged like a knife” Sparing a momentary glance back to the man, I almost flinch at the harsh expression he was giving to me. “Не твое собачье дело” His voice was hoarse and cruel yet I’ve heard worse from the grumpy old timers who often had to stay a few days in the hospital. A smile formed on my lips as I pulled out a small first aid kit, setting it beside me. “It may not be any of my business, but I am a doctor, I can help you until we can get off of the train and get you to a hospital. Stay still.” Shifting through the box, I found exactly what I was looking for. “You know Russian..” A statement more than a question, yet I answered nonetheless. “And you know English, please stay still while I tend to your wound. You won’t die but I bet you’re feeling pretty weak right now from the blood loss.” With pressure being put on the wound, I try to adjust so I can begin working on getting the laceration closed up enough to stop the bleeding. “I’ll be fine after you patch it up. I don’t need a doctor.” A hand lifted, pushing my hands away the moment I had gotten his wound closed up enough to stop the bleeding. “Please sir, don’t move too much or you will make it worse..” Ignoring me, the man sat up, swiftly buttoning up his shirt, his suit jacket the last to be adjusted before he abruptly stood, bracing himself against one of the standing poles. “вот дерьмо..” He muttered under his breath, pausing to stare down at me, eyes dark with mistrust. “Thanks for your help, little nurse, but I will be fine. Clean yourself up as soon as you are able less someone gets frightened from the sight of you stained with blood.” Awkwardly standing, my hands rub against my scrub pants, frowning with distaste. “You need a hospital, you can get an infection if you don’t get checked out..” It seemed as if my protests were falling on deaf ears for all he did was turn away and stop in front of the doors as the train came to its stop. “Wait, don’t go, at least let me give you some pain medicine!” Turning, I pulled a bottle of tylenol from my bag, rushing over to grab his hand and place it in his hand. “It’s tylenol three, it should be a little stronger than normal pain killers..” My gaze flickered to four men standing on the other side of the doors, quick to catch the man, gently taking the pill bottle from his hand. Fear leaves me frozen in place, they were so tall, watching dumbfoundedly as they carried him out, not bothering to look back. It was only when the doors shut close and the small jerk of the train moving did my fear seem to subside. Breathing out shakily, I look around momentarily before gasping out. “That was my stop!”