Private Finished Funny Seeing You Here

Expelling a breath, Tommy leaned against the hospital bed and listened to the finally steady heartbeat of its occupant. He lifted his head wearily as his partner for this particular case clapped him on the shoulder. Tommy had expended a lot of energy keeping this person alive, working blood magic always did him in, but at least he hadn’t had to pull himself into it. Straightening, Tommy pulled off his gloves and tossed them in the hazmat bin before giving his hands a thorough washing. Thankfully, the blood splatter had been minimal and none had gotten on his dark green scrubs. He took the chart and made a few notes before speaking to a nurse about moving them upstairs.

The man on the bed might be stable but he needed to get some more help. He helped them move the man upstairs and as the man was wheeled into his room in the ICU Tommy spoke with the doctor who would be taking care of his long-term health. Giving a brief story of his origin, Tommy mentioned things he had noticed in his blood and gave a summary of what they had been able to do downstairs and what still needed to be done. Tommy turned to leave when a familiar and distinct scent reached him. A little like a funeral, death, flowers. There could be no mistaking it.

Leaving the doctor to her new patient, Tommy turned to see if his nose wasn’t deceiving him. He put his hands on his hips and his expression grew stern. “Shay, didn’t I tell you I didn’t want to see you around here again?” The vampire’s expression broke into a warm smile. “Get over here, kid. How’ve you been?” He held out a hand to her. Shay was a familiar patient, one that he had been glad to stop seeing. He didn’t usually get close to his patients, usually he saw them in their worst state and he patched them up and watched them go. Shay was different. Due to his experience he had been called in to consult on her case when she was a kid. It was hard not to get attached to patients that had chronic illnesses, especially the kids. Tommy had practically watched her grow up and he had a soft spot in his heart for her.

Despite being happy to see her, Tommy worried about why she was here. His brow creased ever so slightly and he cocked his head ever so slightly. Something sounded a little off with her heart beat, it was almost as if it had a little echo. He was almost afraid to ask her why she was here.

Tommy chuckled softly and shook his head at her, feinting disappointment. Nodding his head and crossed his arms. “It has, I’m glad,” he said. He didn’t clarify, he assumed she knew what he meant. Because if he hadn’t seen her that meant she probably hadn’t been here and that was the best news a doctor could get. He opened his mouth, concern flashing over his face as he prepared to ask the question he didn’t want to know the answer to. Shay, however, beat him to the punch, and left the vampire blinking stupidly as he tried to process it. Trying to reconcile the girl he had seen grow up with the new life she was growing within her. That small echoing heartbeat suddenly made perfect sense.

Shaking his head, Tommy snapped himself out of his shock and gave a delighted shout, much to the surprise of people he had been working with for years who hadn’t seen the grouchy vampire so much as smile before. “Congratulations! Wow,” he clasped her shoulders and squeezed them gently. “That’s amazing. How far are you along? Is everything going well? Have you had any adverse reactions? Any morning sickness?” Leave it to a doctor to cut through all proper questions and ask the relevant, if invasive ones.

Letting his hands drop back to his sides, he shook his head again, this time in disbelief. It was outstanding news. There was always the nagging fear with a chronic patient, when they got better, would they be able to have a normal life. It brought Tommy nothing but joy to hear the good news. Shay was a delight and they had all been glad to see her go. He knew she was married from the invitation he had received, and politely declined. He liked Shay, but that was rare and he didn’t want to have to pretend to be pleasant to other people. In fact he wasn’t sure he had event met her husband. It seemed to be going well, at least if the happy pregnancy was anything to go on.

Tommy shrugged and said, “Still dead,” as if to say, ‘same old, same old’. “I’m hiring an assistant at the Apothecary, that’s been an adventure.” He rolled his eyes dramatically. “I think of all the generations I’ve seen, yours is particularly boneheaded,” he teased.

“What are you up to these days? Are you in college now?” His brow creased as he tried to remember where she was the last time he had seen her. She had changed so much since then. Since he had shaken her hand when she was discharged, she had seemed to grow up. And pregnant no less! Tommy had never been a father himself, but some rare moments like this filled his long dead heart and reminded him what it was like to be alive. And reminded him why he spent his free time at the hospital.

Tommy ducked his head in a slight apology for the flood of questions. He nodded along with her statements and was about to question her further, but her insistence that she was fine made him grin and he shrugged. “Good, I’m glad to hear it.” He made a mental not to peak at her chart later and make sure. The thing Tommy didn’t say, was how he worried her childhood condition may be hereditary, how he worried there would be complications, how he worried that it would be hard on her. Harder than someone who was objectively healthy that is. “I bet you’re very excited.” It was a strange feeling, this one. A little proud, a lot excited, a little scared. He could only imagine what it was like to be a parent, if at this professional distance he could be feeling anxious for her.

Nodding, Tommy didn’t tell her how the two jobs were starting to wear him into the ground. He might not need sleep as a vampire, but he still needed rest. He kept forgetting about that. It was also, he thought, time for him to pass on what he knew to another. Like he would have long ago, if he had been human and had a son. Tommy made a sound of displeasure at the mention of Bleedr. “Don’t remind me,” he grumbled. It was an abomination in his mind. An excuse for vampires to act on their instinct instead of their heads.

Shaking his head, Tommy answered her previous question. “Not much, basic math, some basic biology knowledge, some ambition related to medicine. I actually have an interview with a young lady who seems promising.” It was an interesting position, Tommy wasn’t sure he was necessary going to be able to let go. Leaving his plants in the care of someone else was currently unfathomable. The last thing he wanted to do was leave them in the care of some space cadet who decided that their job was daydreaming.

“Huh,” Tommy hummed and made a mental note to check out ‘Hereafter’. “Is that a social thing or a support group?” He asked curiously. Either way, it was a good thing. They saw so many people come through here and half the time they had to get by with the closest similar species to figure out how to treat them. It was challenging when so many species were humanoid, but with vastly different physiology. He nodded, he didn’t remember the name of her husband, but he was glad to hear he had a good job and could support her. “What’s your goal with that? To help out with the tavern or something different?”

Tommy nodded, his smile hovering on his lips. It was an exciting time, it was something that they could have only dreamed was possible. At the time he had known her, they were focused on the present and focused on getting Shay healthy. Thinking ahead was something that came after they had gotten her illness under control. Tommy blinked, shocked. That was quite a gift. To give up something so that someone else could be healthy. Tommy’s eyes darkened briefly as his thoughts wondered. If only Eliana had had that kind of love for him. But, he supposed then he would never have met Shay, never would have seen her grow and get healthy. Something struck him then. How many people were alive right now, because Tommy had been around to help heal them?

Blinking, Tommy turned his attention back to Shay, not at all ready to think on the implications of that thought. “I’m sure he would do it again if he had to,” he said with a soft smile. Shay deserved to live and that someone would give up their livelihood for that was an honorable thing. At least, Tommy thought so. He shifted, glad the conversation moved on. He didn’t like this kind of personal talk, it brought up too many questions he had very thoroughly destroyed. Like what really were Eliana’s intentions. Were they as selfish as he thought? Yes, yes they were. he thought ferociously back at the question.

Tommy hummed as he thought. “I’m not sure, her name’s Amelia, she’s a biology student, and I think she’s a ghost.” He shrugged. “If you know her, I’m going to need you to do recon for me.” He pointed a finger at her, as if he were holding her to an unagreed upon pact.

Listening to Shay, Tommy was already formulating an idea. There was a chance that he could learn something from this. Nodding, he couldn’t agree more. Part of what had made her case so difficult was that there wasn’t a lot of creatures like her and not many people had seen it before. Tommy had an advantage in that he could use blood magic to guide healing for her, without necessarily knowing exactly what the problem was. It was a frustrating thing for a doctor to not know how to treat a patient.

That was a large amount of data and a large endeavor. “I think you’ve got a really good idea on your hands, Shay. And an important goal.” He tapped his chin and cocked his head to her. “Do you think your club would be adverse to a doctor coming around? I don’t mean studying them like lab rats, I mean just asking some basic questions. It could really help to have some basic understanding of their physiology, weaknesses for when they show up here.” Tommy was in doctor mode now and his one track mind was already thinking about what to ask and how to ask them, thinking about how to do so ethically and without being too invasive.

Tommy’s brow raised in interest. What luck, that Shay should know Amelia. For a moment, the vampire hesitated, wondering exactly if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Tommy ‘harrumphed’ at her saying he was tough. “I’m not going to give out gold stars,” he retorted defensively, but when she winked he clued in that she was teasing him and Tommy gave her an ill-concealed look of mock-annoyance. He shook his head at her. “You should really pay more attention,” he said as if beginning a lecture, “You never know when you’ll need to report to your favorite doctor.”

Nodding, Tommy expected as much. “Maybe if we frame it such that it’s comparable to how we don’t want to give vampires garlic, they’d be more comfortable,” he mused aloud. Nodding again, Tommy patted his pockets to find the small notepad he kept. He flipped through to a blank page and then patted the usual places in search of his pen. “Damn interns stole my pen,” he muttered darkly and stopped a nurse on her way by to ask for one. “I liked that pen,” he continued muttering clicking the new pen with displeasure.

He finally clicked the pen one last time and held both out to Shay, watching her expectantly.