2012-08-13 Wounded Warriors

It was another night in the Thompkins Clinic, with more patients coming and getting treated. There were a few scares, with some of the patients needing more care than they had at the clinic, and a superheroine dropping in. But it was relatively calmer than a rebel army coming in to steal suppies. Or trying to. Bruce was starting to settle in, and relax.
That's typically when things get serious.
However, Bruce was committed to his patients and to the staff, known to them as Dr. David Smith, who transfered from New Mexico. Maybe he should have used another area, but no sense in thinking on it now. What's more important that the patient in front of him get the proper care. And in this case, that was making sure the child was bandaged up from a scabbed knee, and the wound clean beforehand. That was done with care, leaving the girl's parents grateful. They may struggle day after day, but now their worries have lessen.
With the family leaving, Bruce calls out: "Alright, who is my next patient?"
*CRASH*
Through the double doors of the clinic, the back of a man is propelled through. From Smith's vantage point, it's not immediately clear what's behind him, but if he looks down he'll notice a relatively small pair of legs that look to be carrying him.
The man is thrown upon a slab in the clinic; it's clear there's been some gunfire trauma. Several holes gush with blood. "...he's lost a lot of blood..." says the young man who has brought him here. He stands rather short, dressed in black and green robes and a domino mask.
What a night. Kit had been visiting a restaurant in Gotham, a little Chinese place. That had gone fine. It was the walk to the bus that didn't go fine. Three punks accosting a woman. One had a gun, the others hand knives. Unfortunately, it was Kit's bad luck to run into people who, for once, knew how to actually use their weapons.
It's a haze after that, but he somehow ended up at the clinic. His left arm dangles from a gun-shot wound in the bicep, and his shirt is stained with blood from the two knife wounds he took to the abdomen. Then there's the throbbing headache, but that's from the large cut over his right eye, where the one jerk got him with the butt of the gun. On the other hand, he came out of it better than they did. At least they'll get medical treatment for their broken hands in jail.
He sat in the lobby, trying to keep himself calm, trying to regulate his breathing so he wouldn't focus on the pain, and when that voice calls out, Kit is pretty sure he's next. And then the sudden appearance of the man hurt a heck of a lot worse than he is convinces him otherwise. Brows shoot up as he watches the proceedings as best as he can.
"Crap. Nurse Quan!" Bruce shouts out to the one nurse at the desk. "Call Gotham General, we got a live one!" He then shouts out instructions to the other nurses about, making sure to get the appropriate care for the bullet-ridden man. The wounds were serious, but if they get to him in time...
"Okay, do we a sterile room open for him? Good, get him there and clean up. We're earning our pay here today." Bruce's voice was calm yet stern, with the voice of experience. This was the first sight of such a patient here, but not his first patient ever in this state. He rushes with the others, checking the man's condition. "Okay, someone check his blood type," was one of the orders he gave out.
He did notice that the young... man who came with them was following. For what it was worth, this was a good thing. "Okay, I need to know what exactly happen to this man, so please tell me what you can. Every piece can help!"
And just before the group went behind a corner, Bruce shouted out, "And Nurse Quan, have someone check that other man, who looks like he came from a bar-fight!" This was in reference to Kit.
The young hero stands motionless and without emotion. Almost eerily going over the details. "...a potential mugging turned extremely violent...this man didn't want to give up his wallet...the thugs shot him...I arrived too late."
Kit pages: I assume I can pose dealing with said nurse. You can handle her side of it, of course. :)
You paged Kit with 'Please do.'
A low whistle comes from Kit as he watches the man. He gets up and heads over to the nurse, giving her a smile as he says, "Sounds about like my night." That's said with a nod toward the man on the slab--a gesture he immediately regrets, as it makes his head swim momentarily. "Argh, shouldn't have done that," he says as he sits down so she can tend to him. He's been poked and prodded so much lately, the treatment of past wounds--and by "past", it's meant that some of them are merely days old--can be seen. They're all obviously from fighting, so either he's one hell of a brawler or he can't keep his nose out of the same kind of things that brought the costumed man here.
"Alright, thanks." Bruce acknowledges the young hero. He then directed his attention to the wounded man, and the group with them wheeled him in to the closest room. Bruce then nodded to the young man, and went into the adjacent room, to scrub himself and prepare for the operation that needs to take place.
Bringing in germs is just as dangerous as leaving the man be.
Meanwhile, the other wounded man was been seen by one of the other nurses, as Nurse Quan was on the phone. The young nurse raised her brows looking at the damage of the man. "Oh dear, you've been through a lot," she says as she checks Kit. "Okay, Dr. Valdez will see you as soon as she's done with her patient. In the mean time, please tell me where you're hurt, and if you can make it to one of the rooms."
Darkwing steps over towards Kit and watches him with a tilted head, almost like a socially inept person might do, not realizing it's highly inappropriate. He seems to be inspecting his injuries, or him, curiously.
"Well," says Kit, arching both brows--and immediately regretting that, too. Stupid jerk with his gun. "Argh. Well, my head hurts like heck; and a couple of meatballs decided to play pincushion with me and their knives." Grimacing, he using his right hand to tug up his shirt, letting the stab wounds be seen. "Then there's this beaut right here," he says, motioning to the black hole in his shirt--and the equally dark hole in his flesh beneath it. "At least it's a through-and-through, so--small favors, I--guess." That pause is when he finally notices Darkwing, and he arches his left brow at the other man, though doesn't seem too off-put by the man's presence. "Umm. Hi," he says, trying to be friendly.
Bruce suits up as he works himself to do the operation on the wounded man. There were many wounds, so Bruce wasn't sure of his condition. But he will work his best to make sure that the man is given the best care. It's been a long time since he's done this surgery, but to him it's like riding a bicycle.
Meanwhile, the nurse recommends that Kit follower her to the next room. It is up to him, though. They are familiar with all the... crimefighters that come through here, so they know about discression. It's written in the contract.
"...hello..." Darkwing says, but the white lenses behind the mask don't make contact with Kit. Instead, he continues inspecting. "...you have many wounds. Wounds of a warrior..."
"Yeah," says Kit as he gets to his feet. That movement is achieved with another grimace. He clears his throat then goes to follow the nurse, though he does say to the masked man, "Guess I'm too stupid to keep my nose to myself, eh?" That's said with something of a lopsided smile, though it's not as much of one as it would be ordinarily. "Got'a respect a guy with the costume who does this every night, though. Not sure I could do that." It's a genuinely respectful tone; he respects anyone who puts themselves in harm's way to help others--or to race someone to a clinic.
5 bullets... 5 bullets for what? This man did not look very rich. It was all senseless. Bruce sighed silently as the last of the bullets out, and the stitching up began. His vital signs were not good, but they could be worse. This man is obviously fighting for something. And however that ended, Bruce would see it to the end. Now if only that ambulance would get here.
Meanwhile, the nurse notices how Kit is not doing well. He goes over there to help the man, holding him gently while leading him to the room. If Kit was the type to notice, he'd notice the girl was very easy on the eyes.
For the young hero, some of the others were looking at him, especially the nurses. People were getting to know the newest of the Bat-Family, and it was rare to see him so close.
Darkwing eventually notices that those around him are beginning...well...to take notice of him. He fidgets momentarily and then brings his hood up over his head. To Kit, he says, "...its not every night..." The words are almost said in passing by the spooked boy.
Oh, even in his current condition, Kit isn't /blind/. He also does the admittedly stereotypically masculine thing of trying to not need her help--not that he actually denies her the chance. Partly, though, he's just not stupid. In case he's wrong about himself and starts to pitch over, he could use the hand. When he gets to the examination table, he hoists himself onto it and sits straight, giving her as warm a smile as he can manage and a "Thank you," for the help. To the newest Bat-Person, he says, "Eh, close enough. Still do it often, and that's what counts, right?"
Bruce was finishing up stitching the man. He was still fighting, and that gave the doctor hope. Bruce sighed as the hardest part was done, and now came the waiting, making sure that the right blood was given, and that the IV was set up. This took quite a while, and when Bruce went out, he wondered if the one who brought him had stayed.
Kit was set in the room, and waited a while for Dr. Valdez, who was taking longer than usual. It was a busy night, and a few complications came up, and as such the nurse did what she could to make him feel comfortable, and yet also asking questions about his injuries.
Darkwing was being approached by one of the patients there, who just stared for a while. "So young..." She ended up saying. She looks like a regular, perhaps a recovering addict. She looks ragged, but perhaps better than usual.
Darkwing stares back at the woman and tilts his head as he inspects her. He says nothing to her, but watches her watch him. After a long moment he snaps away and walks through into the room where Bruce is. "...how will he be, Doctor?..."
Assuming this clinic is like most others, Kit's wounds might not be all that uncommon, so the devil's in the details. And when his blood-soaked shirt is finally off, it's seen even more clearly that he's not exactly a stranger to this kind of thing. Various gashes and scars, some at least a decade old--and there are a few that would have to look like they were made by a large /cat/, of all things. Tiger-sized, large. "This one was a switchblade," he says, motioning to one of the stab-wounds, "and I think the other guy had one of those, uh, hunting knives--not the large kind, but the smaller ones, the ones you'd skin smaller game with." A beat as he looks to his left bicep. "Think the gun was a twenty-two caliber; large enoguh to be effective, though." Anyone who thinks they need a forty-five to stop someone has never been shot, themselves. Even a "small" caliber bullet hurts like heck.
"To be honest, time will tell," Bruce tells the young man. It was interesting to see him just walk in, as if he owned the place. With the rumors flying about here, that may not be far off. But it matters not. "If you got him here any later, there would be no chance. The man is fighting, and his vitals are stable. When the ambulance gets here, we'll have a better sense." He sighs as he looks through the window, looking at the patient. "You wouldn't happen to know who he is? Didn't find any source of identification on him, except for his phone." Bruce motioned to the table next to him. He didn't see it prudent to search just yet.
Kit, in the mean time, the nurse could only gasp at what she heard. She began to worry about being in the same room as this man, as he's been through a lot. And she doesn't do a good job of hiding it. But she then swallows up and proceeds to treat the fresh wounds, making sure they aren't disinfected. She then proceeded to bandage him up; the nurse was allowed to do that much, considering how busy the clinic can get.
Darkwing turns to look to Kit as he speaks, but doesn't move his body. Instead, his neck turns slowly to take in what the man says, before just as slowly turning back to regard the Doctor. "...I do not know his name. He will live?..."
Ah, the stinging disinfectant. It makes Kit hiss softly as the nurse applies it, though he doesn't shy away from the touch or anything. He would have to wonder if it's sad that, though it still causes a reaction, he's gotten used to it enough to control the automatic reaction of jerking away. He probably doesn't want the answer to that. "Hey, if you think /this/ looks bad, you should see the other guys. For fighting one-on-three I think I came out pretty spiffy," he tells the nurse between teeth-gritting moments of the disinfectant. He's also trying for a joke, there, to lighten the mood. Please, lady, he's not going to go crazy and take you with him. Really.
"Unfortunately, we did all that we could. We ALL did." This is usually the part where Bruce lays a hand on the boy, for he couldn't be older than 18. But he had a feeling that was a bad thing to do; personal space and all. So he just stayed there. "If he pulls through, it will be because it was meant to be, now. The fact that you brought him here increased his chances from zero; we can't ask for more than that." Although that doesn't stop us from trying... But Bruce neglected to add that.
He did hope the ambulance gets here soon, however.
The nurse taking care of Kit is still a bit uneasy, but is slowly feeling more comfortable. The man doesn't look so bad, not bad at all... But she is still professional, trying to make him comfortable as well. She then started to bandage up the wounds, and was thankful they had a huge supply now. Hopefully, they won't need it all for him.
Darkwing gives the Doctor a curt nod and, just as quickly as he barged in, he barges out. The door swings open and he strides through, looking to Kit. "...goodbye, warrior..." His stride continues to take him towards the exit.
Like a good patient, Kit leans back and leans on his right hand when she starts to apply the dressings to his abdomen, to let her have easier access to that area. He's just about to make another joke when--the door suddenly opens and the costumed man takes his leave with his goodbye. Kit arches a brow as he smiles--though that smile fades at the pressure to his wound. "Well, got'a say that the guy knows how to make an exit," he quips, looking to the nurse. "Think it comes with the costume?"
Bruce takes a deep breath. He then adds the phone to a bag with all of the person's affects, which will be transported with him as soon as the ambulance comes in. He can do no more here, as one of the nurses is monitoring the situation. He then leaves, remembering that one of the nurses says that the cut-up man hasn't been seen yet due to the other doctors being tied up. He decides to see the young man himself.
The nurse was startled with the entrance of Darkwing; so much she dropped the bandages. She took a deep breath, and decided not to berate the young hero as he left; a man of few words.
And the sounds of sirens are coming closer. The ambulance has arrived.
It's when the nurse gets to the cut on his head that the temptation to jerk away becomes rather strong. He has to grit his teeth and close his eyes as that's dealt with. He has to wonder why it is that cuts on the head always hurt more than most other places. Still, he does his best to be a good little patient for the woman. He's gone through this enough times to care enough to try and make it easier on her, too.
"How we doing here, Nurse Long?" Bruce walks in some time after the young hero left. He then walks up to the patient, and takes a look. "Well, that's quite a battle you must have been through. You know, Nurse Long is one of the best at bandaging." He throws a smile at the nurse, and then turns his attention back to Kit. "It looks like there's little else needed to be done here, but all the same, you have any other conditions that we need to look at?"
As Bruce is meeting with his new patient, the paramedics arrive, and are directed to the man who is recovering. They may have just made it in time.
When the doctor comes in, Kit opens his eyes and looks up at the man, giving him something of a smile. At his question, Kit takes a look at himself, then looks back to the man. "At the moment? No, Nurse Long has--ah--everything very well taken care of. Unless you're also a--ai--psychologist who can tell me why I keep thinking fists can stand up to knives." A grin, there, at his joke, the grunts from the way the nurse deals with his wounds. She's about as deft as they come, and he knows it, but that doesn't mean the wounds don't hurt.
"That... requires a different set of skills, of which I don't possess." Wouldn't be too bad to have them, though... "But I'm sure the staff here can address you to one, if you want." Bruce smiles, glad that at least this guy was okay. "If you have any more issues, you know where we are, and we'll give you the number if you need. But I'm glad you came when you did."
Heroes and victims come here alike, and Bruce has seen more than his fare share before even coming to Gotham. As he sees the ambulance off, with one extra passenger in toe, he wonders just how long this can continue. Him, being a doctor here.
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