Central Bela Hospital

The epicenter of New Bela, Central Bela Hospital is a fairly new establishment, built twenty years ago after the old Bela Nombre Hospital caught fire and was destroyed. It has no state-of-the-art equipment, but the doctors and staff make up for the slack in that area. Their expertise is unsurpassed by any hospital in the mid-Washington region.

The rooms are all the same calming deep turquoise color, a nice respite from the normal sickly green. The furniture is all wooden, with cream-colored upholstery flecked through with gold. The floors are white tile, kept pristine by the competent custodians who work tirelessly to keep the building nice. The staff is all amiable, and greets all patients with a smile.

Though the hospital prides itself in never being extremely busy, there's been a sudden increase in patients lately, most coming in with strange injuries they claim to have recieved while hiking...

All staff members are NPC's, unless otherwise specified.

Oliver Vandrose

When he reached the hospital he burst through the emergency exit doors and appraoched the front desk. His hair was still wet, as it had yet to stop raining. It was this that the woman behidn the desk noticed first, seemingly not even seeing the unconscious girl in his arms.

"Young man, haven't you heard of an umbrella?" she chided. Annoyed, Oliver shook his head quickly, water flinging onto the woman's neat countertop. She eyed the droplets with disgust.

"I need help," he spat at the woman, who glared at him; he guessed she was normally very nice and good at her job, but he was in a hurry. "She needs help. She fell off the cliffs out at Tilicend--"

The woman's eyes roamed down to the girl in Oliver's arms and her eyebrows shot skyward. "Oh, y-yes, of course," she stammered, before motioning for Oliver to follow her. She led him to an empty room before scurrying off after a nurse. Oliver laid Ruby out on the small, crinkly paper-covered bed gently, brushing her hair out of her face.

"You're safe now, Ruby," he whispered. Just then a nurse brushed beside him, nudging him out of the way so she could inspect Ruby.

"What happened?" the nurse demanded, so Oliver rounded the bed to stand across from her. Thinking fast, he came up with a believable story. It wasn't so far off from the truth. Just a small lie.

"We were out on the cliffs talking, and it started storming. She slipped, so I dove in after her. She's breathing but she won't wake up."

The nurse worked over her for a few more moments, shinign lights in Ruby's eyes, checking her pulse, before she looked up at Oliver. "You both could have died, you know. You're lucky; the water out there gets dangerous when it storms like this."

Oliver nodded mutely. Just make sure Ruby's okay.

Ruby Gehringer

Ruby was vaguely aware of hearing the muted sounds of people talking, feeling someone brush her hair off of her face, but she did not stir. Dreams flitted in and out of her mind--happy ones where she was safe and warm and worry-free. She liked this.

Meanwhile, while Ruby's eyes remained closed, the nurse continued to examine her. "Page Dr. Gehringer," she said to the intern that was hovering near, who immediately vanished to do just that. "Do you know how long she's been unconscious? A rough estimate, maybe?"

Rough waves battered the ship, but Captain Ruby was sound asleep, snug in a bed with warm blankets and soft pillows. The storm could rage all it wanted, but Captain Ruby would not care.

The intern returned and the nurse allowed her to check Ruby's vitals. "Nurse, it looks like she's got a possible wrist fracture, probably from the fall, in addition to hypothermia and a possible concussion. Not to mention the poor thing's gonna be bruised like nothing else when she wakes up and her blood starts flowing normally. Do we know the brain function yet?" She looked at Oliver. "What possessed you kids to go to the cliffs anyway?"

The nurse glared. "That's irrelevant, Dr. Hadley. Now, where's Gehringer? We need him here now!"

Ruby ran through the forest, laughing happily. The sun shone through the trees and illuminated everything, giving the forest an ethereal glow. She settled down under a tree and fell asleep.

"What have we got?" asked Dr. Gehringer when he finally appeared in the room.

"Fifteen-year-old Jane Doe, fell off the cliffs at Tilicend Beach. Has been unconscious since arrival here at least, possible fractured wrist and concussion, and definitely a case of hypothermia. What should--" she stopped as Dr. Gehringer's eyes fell on the girl on the bed. "That's no Jane Doe," he said flatly. "That's my daughter, Ruby." His gaze rested on Oliver and he whirled to face him. "What happened?!" he roared.

From the bed, Ruby made a small sound, like a moan, but her eyes stayed closed.

Oliver Vandrose

An intern had shown up after a couple of minutes, hovering at the nurse's elbow, seemingly uselessly. "Page Dr. Gehringer," the nurse said, and the intern scurried away.

Oliver's shoulders slumped.

He'd forgotten that Ruby's father worked at the hospital. No need for a hospital coupled with the fact that the Gehringers were new to town had allowed that fact to slip through his mind, forgotten. What would Dr. Gehringer think when he ffound his unconscious daughter, battered and bruised, and Oliver hovering over her?

The nurse had asked him a question. How long had Ruby been unconscious? It had been about five minutes since he'd left the shore with her, but how long before that?

And how could he tell the truth without giving himself away? He didn't want to harm Ruby in place of selfishly portecting himself, but his existence? His safety? His life?

Of course not. Ruby was more important. He would have to tell the truth as best he could.

"Um," he said, "fifteen, minutes, maybe?" That was close; stretching only about five minutes longer than reality. Five minutes couldn't be life-threatening; she was still breathing, her heartbeat regular.

The nurse arched an eyebrow at him before tending to Ruby again. Fifteen minutes was still stretching it. It took a normal person in a vehicle about twenty-five minutes to reach New Bela, with the stop signs; would they notice that he had no car in the parking lot?

The intern returned, and the nurse allowed her access to Ruby. The intern took over inspections, rattling off a list of injuries. Fractured wrist, possible concussion, hypothermia, and numerous bruises. The intern shot a sharp glare at him. "What possessed you kids to go to the cliffs anyways?" she accused.

Oliver stared at her, but the nurse retored in his place. "That's irrelevant, Dr. Hadley. Now, where's Gehringer? We need him here now!"

Oliver internally thanked the nurse for the interruption. Where was Dr. Gehringer? Wouldn't he be worried about his daughter?

Oliver watched Ruby, where she lay on the bed as if she were no more than sleeping. The wrist the intern was checking looked fragile. Ruby looked fragile.

A man entered the room then, asking, "What have we got?" The nurse began filling him in.

"Fifteen-year-old Jane Doe, fell off the cliffs at Tilicend Beach," she said, and Oliver's eyes snapped up.

"She's not a Jane Doe," he said, but nobody seemed to hear him. He'd forgotten to tell them her name, but why hadn't they simply asked him?

"Has been unconscious since arrival here at least, possible fractured wrist and concussion, and definitely a case of hypothermia. What should--" the nurse started, but Dr. Gehringer's recognition registered then as he got closer.

"That's no Jane Doe," he said, his tone free from inflection. "That's my daughter, Ruby." Oliver tensed, waiting for the explosion. He wasn't disappointed. Dr. Gehringer's eyes rested on him and he roared, "What happened?!" so that the words filled the small space.

"Dr. Gehringer, I'm sorry. . . She slipped so I dove in after her," Oliver said quickly and quietly. "I got her to the hospital as soon as I could."

There was a small sound from the bed, and Oliver turned. Ruby hadn't woken up, but she had uttered a small moan.

"Is she waking up?" he asked the nurse.

Ruby Gehringer

The first thing Ruby noticed was the pain. Her entire body ached, and her right arm felt like it was on fire. What happened to me? she thought slowly, sluggishly. She heard voices, far away at first, then slowly becoming closer and more distinct. Am I still dreaming?

She moaned a bit, but the sound appeared far away to her own ears. "Is she waking up?" a male voice asked. His voice, too, sounded tinny and distant. What's wrong with me?

"She might be," the nurse said. Dr. Gehringer nodded. "When she wakes up, we'll give her some painkillers, and she'll need an MRI. We need to see if the fall did anything more serious than what we can see.

I'm fine, Ruby tried to say, but her mouth didn't obey her. See, look, I'm okay!

Slowly, she tried to open her eyes. The bright light that flooded into them burned like fire, and she closed them again, making a small noise that was half moan and half sob. "Doctor..." the nurse murmured.

Just open your eyes, Ruby thought. And so she did, slowly but surely, until she was able to make out her surroundings. She was laying on a hospital bed, there was no doubt about that. There was a young woman in blue scrubs standing over her, her hair pulled back and her eyes anxious. She wore a nametag, but Ruby couldn't make out the writing on it. Another woman, an older one in pink scrubs, stood scribbling something onto a chart. Next to her was...Ruby's dad, and standing in the corner was Oliver Vandrose.

"Ruby?" her dad asked worriedly. She locked eyes with him and he sighed. [b]"Thank god."

"Ruby, my name is Dr. Hadley," Blue Scrubs said. "You've been in an accident. Don't try to talk just yet, but I need you to blink if you can hear me." Ruby did as she was told. She opened her mouth, but Dr. Hadley shushed her before turning to Ruby's dad. "What should we do? Get her straight to the MRI, or try to warm her up a bit first? Her core temperature's only a 93."

Dr. Gehringer thought for a bit. "Both. Try to raise her temperature first, and in about ten minutes we'll get her down to the MRI. Ruby? I'm going to go call your mom, but I'll be right back, okay? I won't be able to be there for the MRI, but Dr. Hadley will take good care of you." Ruby nodded. "O....okay..." she said in a tiny voice. Dr. Gehringer kissed her forehead and headed towards the door. "Page me if anything goes wrong. And you--" he said, looking at Oliver. "Thank you for saving my daughter. But we're not finished just yet." He looked over at the young intern. "You're in charge, Hadley. Don't let me down."

Hadley nodded. "Nurse, we'll need some blankets, and I'm going to give her an IV of warm fluids. Can you go get those for me?" the nurse nodded and departed. "Ruby, you've got a case of hypothermia and we think you may have a broken wrist, too, and maybe a concussion on top of that. We're gonna give you an MRI so we can check your wrist and the rest of your body, too, and make sure there's nothing wrong. You're going to have to stay the night here, at the very least, and we're probably going to keep you through the weekend just in case. Understand?"

Ruby nodded. "Yes..." she whispered. "But...what happened? And Oliver, what are you doing here?"

Oliver Vandrose

The nurse replied by explaining that once Ruby woke up, she would need an MRI to ensure there was no further damage than the broken wrist and hypothermia. Oliver nodded in agreement, as if his opinion mattered. But noone seemed to be paying him any mind other than to acknowledge his questions, and so he relocated to the corner, out of the way.

Ruby's eyes fluttered, opening a bit and then closing tightly as the white light overhead flooded them. She made that small moaning sound again. "Doctor.." the nurse called. Oliver watched from the corner, his shoulders tense.

And then she opened her eyes for real. She took in the room around her, studying the nurses before looking at her father and then, lastly, her eyes swiveling to land on Oliver. He sighed in relief, his shoulders straightening out.

"Ruby?" Dr. Gehringer asked worriedly, before sighing. "Thank god."

The nurse began speaking to Ruby. "You've been in an accident," she sad. "Don't try to talk just yet, but I need you to blink if you can hear me." Ruby obeyed, her eyelids closing once and then flickering open again. It looked like she was about to speak before the nurse shushed her and turned to Dr. Gehringer for advice. Should they send her for her MRI now or warm her up?

"Both," Dr. Gehringer said. "Try to raise her temperature first, and in about ten minutes we'll get her down to the MRI. Ruby? I'm going to go call your mom, but I'll be right back, okay? I won't be able to be there for the MRI, but Dr. Hadley will take good care of you."

"O...Okay," Ruby said quietly, nodding. Dr. Gehringer leaned down and laid a kiss on her forehead before turning towards to door.

"Page me if anything goes wrong. And you--" he said, turning to where Oliver hovered out of the way, his arms folded across his chest. "Thank you for saving my daughter. But we're not finished yet."

Oliver nodded. Dr. Gehringer left the nurse in charge before he left. The nurse dove right into telling Ruby what was happening; they were going to give her an IV, some blankets, get her an MRI, and keep her overnight.

"Understand?" the nurse asked.

"Yes..." Ruby nodded. "But...what happened? And Oliver, what are you doing here?"

Oliver stepped closer to her bed. "You kind of fell," Oliver said with a small smile. "But you're okay now, just a little banged up. I brought you to the hospital." He raised an eyebrow at her and fixed her with a look that he hoped conveyed his message: we'll talk later. "Right now all you have to worry about is warming up."

Ruby Gehringer

Oliver took a little step closer to Ruby. "You kind of fell," he explained. "But you're okay now, just a little banged up. I brought you to the hospital." That was all he said, but something in his facial expression told Ruby there was more to his story than he was willing to tell in front of Dr. Hadley. Flashes of memory began to come back to her--meeting Oliver on the beach, the storm, running into the caves, meeting Blair...

"Right now all you have to worry about is warming up," he said. Ruby winced as the doctor put an IV into her good arm just as the nurse in the pink scrubs arrived with blankets and put them around Ruby. Hadley continued to examine Ruby's wrist while the nurse monitored her temperature, and no one said anything for a while. Ruby bit her lip hard to keep from crying out at the intern's touch, but every time she moved her wrist it felt like it was on fire. Hadley noticed this and smiled. "Sorry. It's just that we can't give you any painkillers until we've gotten your temperature up--if we did it could cause some complications. Can you hold on for just a bit longer?" Ruby nodded.

After a few minutes, Dr. Gehringer returned, his face bleak. "Ruby, honey, I just spoke to your mom. She's gonna try to make it out here, but the storm is still really, really bad, and the police are warning people to stay off the roads. But she is trying to get here, I promise." Ruby nodded, and her dad looked over at Oliver. "That means you're gonna have to stay here for a while. Sorry about that, but we don't want to risk anything.

"Her temp's up to 97. Is that good enough to get her down to the MRI?" the nurse asked. Ruby's dad nodded, and Dr. Hadley undid Ruby's IV and inserted another one, this one the promised painkiller. "Like I said, I can't be there for the MRI, but I'm just a page away." Ruby squeezed her dad's hand with her good one as they started to wheel her bed out of the room.

The MRI took an exhausting forty-five minutes, and it revealed nothing that they didn't already know--Ruby did indeed have a broken wrist, but no concussion or internal bleeding. They took Ruby back to her room and paged the head of orthopedics to come down and set her arm. She looked around the dreary hospital room and sighed heavily. "Why can't I do anything right, for once?"

Oliver Vandrose

They gave Ruby an IV, wrapped her up in blankets, and got her temperature up enough that they could take her for her MRI. When they wheeled her out of the room, Oliver assumed the chair on the wall with the window. His elbows on his knees, he buried his head in his hands.

Hospitals weren't a good idea for a malnutritioned vampire. The smell of human blood seemed to permeate the very walls, soaked through his skin and filled him with thirst. He needed to hunt. He needed to go to Mt. Rainier, perhaps stay for a week or so with Ross. He was pushing himself to hard, testing limits that never had any hope of holding him back. It was a good thing Ruby hadn't been bleeding when he'd found her.

His throat roared at him, burning, churning, painful. His mouth watered, but the venom did nothing to sooth the thirst.

Forty-five minutes after they'd taken Ruby away, she returned with nothing more than a broken bone, no concussion. The nurse paged someone from orthopedics to set Ruby's wrist. Ruby sighed heavily; Oliver looked away fromt he door he'd been staring at.

"Why can't I do anything right, for once?" she said, and Oliver shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Ruby. You fell off a cliff. It's not like you jumped." He smiled warmly at her. "No one's mad at you. They just want to make sure you're okay. And by the looks of it, you are." Then he laughed. "Besides, I thought every kid wanted to break a bone at least once, you know, for all the perks and the cool cast that all their friends can sign."

OOC: Fear me as I reference both House MD and Grey's Anatomy in one post! Mwahaha! BIC:

Ruby Gehringer

"You didn't do anything wrong, Ruby," she heard Oliver say. She jumped and swiveled her head to face him. "Woah! You scared me! I barely noticed you were there!"

"You fell off a cliff. It's not like you jumped. No one's mad at you. They just want to make sure you're okay. And by the looks of it, you are." Ruby gave a one-armed shrug. "If you say so. But if I hadn't acted like a stupid, reckless...child, going out into the storm like that when I was perfectly safe in the caves, I wouldn't have fallen. And if you hadn't been there to get me out of the water..." she shuddered, then winced at the pain this caused her. She looked down at her swollen wrist. "But I had to get out of the caves. I couldn't stay there any longer. It felt like someone was watching me...but then when I went out into the forest, it just got worse." She sighed again. "I don't know."

Oliver laughed, and Ruby looked up at him. "Besides, I thought every kid wanted to break a bone at least once, you know, for all the perks and the cool cast that all their friends can sign." Ruby snickered. "Oh, yeah, all my friends. It'll be like, three signatures at best. My mom, you, and maybe the girl I met at the library. And it's not even the hand I write with...oh well. No more PE for me for a while, at least!"

"That's right," said a voice from the doorway. Ruby looked up to see a 30-something doctor leaning against the doorframe, her black hair tied back and her hand wrapped around what Ruby could only assume was her X-ray. "Hi, Ruby. I'm Dr. Torres, and I'm gonna fix your arm for you, there." She hung up the X-ray on the wall and walked over to Ruby's bed.

"You have what's called a distal radial fracture. Luckily, it's not bad enough to need surgery, but Dr. Hadley and I are going to have to set your arm--push the bone back into position so it can heal properly-- and you're gonna be in a cast for about six weeks. Once we get the bone set, we'll put a cast on for you, which you'll have to come back here to get replaced in a few weeks when the swelling goes down and the cast gets loose. Got it?"

Ruby nodded and Dr. Torres began giving Hadley instructions. Basically, the resident--Torres--would do the majority of the work while the intern held Ruby's body steady so she wouldn't move around while the bone was being set. Hadley would also help in putting the cast on. Dr. Torres looked up from Ruby's chart and met her eyes. "I'm not gonna lie, kid--this is gonna hurt. You ready?" Ruby sighed and nodded. "Yeah." Torres gave Hadley a 'lets go' look and Hadley moved into position to help set the broken bone.

A loud snap and a cry of pain from Ruby and it was over. She found herself remembering the day not so long ago when Keith Dkain had had to pop her ankle bone back into the joint. 'Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it'....story of my life, right there.

"Okay. Done," Torres said with a grin. "Now we'll work on getting that cast, okay?" Her eyes fell on Oliver. "Ah, so here he is. You're the talk of the hospital, my friend. The hero of the hour!"

Ruby smiled softly. "Yeah."

Oliver Vandrose

Ruby laughed at Oliver's comment. "Oh, yeah, all my friends. It'll be like, three signatures at best. My mom, you, and maybe the girl I met at the library. And it's not even the hand I write with...oh well. No more PE for me for a while, at least!"

Oliver smiled at her encouragingly, though he didn't like the way Ruby spoke. He hated the way the students at school treated one another, and Ruby was definitely not exempt from their tortures; he'd heard almost mroe cruel things about Ruby than he had Blair, petty things that held no merit when looking at Ruby as a person. Besides, she was more of a human -- more likeable and genuine -- than anyone at Bela Nombre High School that Oliver had come across.

But before Ruby could answer, a woman, black hair pulled back, entered the room.

"That's right," she said, answering Ruby's remark about missing PE. ""Hi, Ruby. I'm Dr. Torres, and I'm gonna fix your arm for you, there."

She hung the x-ray in her hand up, pointing out Ruby's injury. She explained what was going to happen to Ruby -- they were going to put a cast on her arm, which would be replaced in a few weeks -- and Ruby nodded, before Dr. Torres began instructing Hadley, the nurse, one what to do to set Ruby's arm. She turned to Ruby with a grimace.

"I'm not gonna lie, kid--this is gonna hurt. You ready?"

Ruby sighed as if bracing herself before nodding; Torres nodded to Hadley and they settled into their formation. One steadied Ruby while the other reset the bone.

Ruby let out a loud cry of pain as a loud snap filled the room; it sounded at if they were hurting her further, not healing her. Oliver jumped out of his seat and found himself at Ruby's bedside quicker than he realized he wanted to move. Luckily, no one seemed to notice.

Torres announced their job was done. "Now we'll work on getting that cast, okay?" Her eyes fell on Oliver. "Ah, so here he is. You're the talk of the hospital, my friend. The hero of the hour!"

"Yeah," Ruby agreed, smiling. Oliver shook his head, retreating away from the bed again.

"I didn't do anything anyone else wouldn't have done," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. He looked at Ruby. "I'm glad you're alright," he said, smiling at her as the nurse and Dr. Torres began to place her arm in a cast. "But I should probably get going. Someone has to spread the news about your survival," he said with a wink.

He rounded Ruby's bed and slipped out of the room, fighting to keep from breathing the whole way. Someone in the hospital was losing blood, somewhere. Oliver could have found them within seconds, but he pushed himself the other way. On his way out of the doors, he pulled out his cell and pressed the number two on speed dial. When the line was picked up, Oliver didn't wait for an answer.

"Ross, I'm coming to Rainier."

Oliver has left the hospital.

Ruby Gehringer

Once her wrist bone had been set, some of Ruby's pain abated, and she sat back as Dr. Torres instructed the intern, Dr. Hadley, in putting the plaster cast on Ruby's arm. "I didn't do anything anyone else wouldn't have done," Oliver said in response to Torres' hero comment from before. He looked rather uncomfortable, Ruby noted. "I'm glad you're alright. But I should probably get going. Someone has to spread the news about your survival," Oliver said, winking.

Ruby nodded and smiled, although the painkillers they'd given her were starting to make her feel a bit drowsy. "Okay. Oliver...thanks. Thanks so much. I owe you one. I guess I'll see you..." She looked up at Dr. Torres. "Will I be able to go to school on Monday?"

Torres smiled. "Most likely."

"Then I'll see you then, Oliver. Goodbye."

Oliver left the hospital room at a brisk pace, and Ruby settled back against the pillows, feeling more relaxed than she had since she had awoken. Dr. Torres grinned and nudged Ruby's shoulder. "He's kinda cute, isn't he?" she said with a wink.

"Don't be ridiculous," Ruby told the doctor as a loud shriek filled the room. Ruby looked over to see her mother running towards her, looking panicked. "My BABY!" she shouted, running at Ruby and throwing her arms around her.

"Hey!" said Ruby and her doctors in unison. "Easy, Mom!"

Mrs. Gehringer took a step back and apologized to the doctors. "Ruby Marie Gehringer, what were you THINKING going out there in this weather? If that boy hadn't have been there..."

"Sorry, Ma..." Ruby said softly. Dr. Gehringer came up behind his wife. "She's gonna be okay, Molly. You have to let her sleep now, she's been through a lot. They're gonna keep her here through the weekend, okay? Ruby will be fine." He looked at her and smiled. "You should get some rest now. Dr. Torres and Dr. Hadley will be finished soon, and your mom will stay with you. I'm gonna stay too, but I have to stay and work til midnight, and then I'm on call. Sleep."

Ruby nodded and closed her eyes, sleep coming over her quickly.

Ruby's sleeping, so the interaction is over.