for my part, I prefer my heart to be broken.

[darkenedmoon]

Who: Harlan Rosenberg, Yotsuyu Naeuri, and potentially Elliott and friends to follow?
What: Yotsuyu has ended up in the emergency room after an attempted mugging. Oops?
When: Wednesday Evening
Where: Dr. Rosenberg's ER
Rating/Warnings: Not much, besides for Yotsuyu's tart tongue and Harlan's surliness.




Yellow eyes tracked the officer's movements. She'd been triaged and was now waiting for the doctor to see her, and while she waited, Yotsuyu was giving a police report--somewhat tersely, to be honest.  At least she was doing her best to keep her temper in check, and answer the questions the man asked her honestly. Especially since it seemed like the officer was waiting for her story to change. That annoyed her, and she did her level best to not scowl at the man. What in the hells did he expect from her, anyway?

"Ms. Naeuri? Are you doing all right?" a pleasant voice called from the hallway. The privacy curtain was pulled back, and the ER nurse smiled brightly at her. Yotsuyu gave the woman a slightly pained smile as she twisted her paper ID bracelet, and nodded. Her scrapes and cuts did not hurt nearly as much as the obnoxiousness she was dealing with from the oh-so-helpful officer! 

"I'm quite all right, dear. Thank you for asking. Just waiting for the doctor now, but no rush. I'm certain they're a very busy person." Especially since the emergency room itself seemed to be very busy, in truth. If they hadn't wanted her to wait until she was seen by the doctor and the authorities, she'd have just gone home. Save for the fact that she didn't want to waste the doctor's time when she was already on the waiting list, Yotsuyu might have simply walked out.

Although, she had to admit, that the policeman might have tried to stop her, then....

Comments

[tougholdmodel]

Then as the nurse turned as though to replace the curtain she paused as someone caught her eye along the corridor, “Oh, well here he comes now. Your wait is over.”

Beyond the curtain and half walls, a gruff voice barks out with a firm tone, “Hirsch! Quit fiddling with those forceps, and call maintenance! You’re gonna need pliers to get that nail out.” A thread of irritation is in the tone but balanced by confidence of experience shared with good intention. Really, further attempts would just prolong the pain for the patient.

An older man walks into view with a clipboard in hand and a few items in a bin on top of it. Average in height, he has a rather broad stature that takes up the open curtain space. His hair is grey in a shade quite close to steel, cut sharp into a low maintenance style reminiscent of his military days. It contrasts with the blanket of stubble at his jaw that is several shades lighter and the black, thick brows above his eyes marred by a vertical scar on the right. His dark blue eyes pause at the cop before fixing on the woman settled on the bed, the gaze focused despite the fatigue entrenched in the lines at the corners of his darkened eyes. While he speaks in the same gruff voice, the edge is gone and some of the gravely quality with it, “I’ve been told you’ve had quite an unpleasant experience tonight. Let’s get you taken care of and out of here so you can get home.”

[darkenedmoon]

"Thank you, nurse..." Yotsuyu's voice trailed off at the sound of the doctor's raised voice, even as the officer smirked just a little bit. She didn't miss that face the policeman made, and her lips thinned, even as her gaze moved to the doctor.

Her brows flew up as her traitorous memories reared their ugly heads. For a moment, her breath caught in her throat.

I don't mean to reproach you, but to praise you! You're a survivor, samurai! Just...like...me.

If only I hadn't remembered...he should hate me...

Her eyes widened further, and Yotsuyu burst into tears, burying her face in her hands.

[tougholdmodel]

Crying is commonplace in the Emergency Room, but it usually comes after he has to deliver bad news. Not before he can even introduce himself to his patient.

His own eyes widen in surprise, but that does not delay him from acting in the next beat. Attention snapping to the officer with her, he glares in warning, “You, out! You know you can’t stay during treatment.” The officer starts to protest, “Now wait a-” only to be cut off with a near growl in the doctor’s already low voice, “You’ve had plenty of time to get a statement. If she needs to add an addendum, she can contact you later. Out.” Wisely, the officer bows his head a little and excuses himself. The doctor steps aside to let him pass and glares after him briefly before the anger passes in an exhale.

The aging doctor moves only where she can see him at the curtain again, and he makes an offer with concern angling his dark brows, “Ma’am. If you’d rather be seen by a female physician, I would be happy to relieve Dr. Reeves and send her to you. It would only take a couple of minutes.”

[darkenedmoon]

Vehemently, Yotsuyu shook her head. "No! You are fine. I only--you reminded me of someone. I am sorry." In truth, that was the absolute last thing she had expected, and now, in the wake, she was rather embarrassed. Even if she was still fumbling her emotions into some semblance of order...

"I have already been in contact with my son. I am mostly all right, I think. Being checked out here was mostly a formality. Though that officer--I do not know what he was waiting for. I gave him his statement, I had nothing to add. It was as if he was waiting for my story to change." That made her growl a little in irritation. At least the doctor had sent him packing--that, she was most definitely grateful for.

"Let us begin again. Doctor, I am grateful for your assistance. I am Yotsuyu Naeuri, and I had a bit of a...mishap, before I arrived here. I had a few assailants attempt to mug me," she admitted, dryly. "Perhaps they should have actually used a firearm." They'd relied on being larger than her to cow her--their mistake. That likely explained the sharp scent of pepper spray that still clung to her.

[tougholdmodel]

That the woman is already able to reign back her tears reduces most of his concern. Her apology is given a nod of acknowledgement, even though it felt unnecessary to him. She does not appear nervous, so he accepts her confidence to proceed. Rather than prolong the awkward tension, he waves the nurse off with a soft gesture and steps into the bay. He closes the curtain and sets his clipboard and bin on a rolling bedside table that he pushes over beside her bed.

Listening as she talks, the doctor begins by pulling a small plastic bag from the bin to crumple in his hands and break the inner seal. He wraps it in a clean washcloth and extends the pack to her with a simple instruction between her words, “Hold this over your eye. 10 or 15 minutes.” So close, he picks up the scent of the pepper spray as it clings defiantly in her hair and clothes.

Only once she has introduced herself and filled him in on more details of the situation does he answer with his name, “Dr. Rosenberg. I’ll assist you as well as I can, Ms. Naeuri.” Hearing her name had helped his own pronunciation of it. A sneer tugs at his frown as he presents his opinion, “Sounds almost like that officer didn’t believe you could best more than one mugger.” The derision is absent when he adds, “You were fortunate they did not have a gun.”

“The nurse gave you a cursory examination, but she asked me to look at a cut on your hand,” he says to explain as he begins to visually assess the forming bruises under the scraps on her hands. Almost immediately he spots the split knuckle and he leans only enough to get a clear look with eyes narrowing, “This must be it. Superficial...and no sign of damage under the dermis, but the location is inconvenient. Normally something this small I would steri-strip, but if you don’t want to hold your fingers straight for four weeks and would like to avoid a wide scar, I recommend a single stitch.” He provides more information to allow her to know what to expect, “If you are comfortable with that, I’ll rinse it clean and numb the area with a topical dose of lidocaine. A single stitch is two pokes and a pull. Keep it covered with a bandaid for three weeks, then it’ll be ready to come out.”

“And, given what you’ve dealt with, I can write you a script for a sleep aide. A few nights worth, just in case you feel less okay later.”

[darkenedmoon]

"I am. I was," when Dr. Rosenberg mentions her luck in her assailants not having a gun. He's right, after all, and there's no need to be cocky. Though perhaps, now that Elliott is older, she ought to reconsider having a gun, and a permit for it as well. She accepts the ice pack and presses it over her right eye--if nothing else, Yotsuyu will likely have a time explaining it tomorrow--to her son, to her boss, and if she encounters anyone else, as well.

She can always skip the support group, at least.

"No, I cannot hold my fingers still for that long, so your assessment is correct--though all things considered, I suspect they would be, in any case. Please, do so." She nods at that. It is at least on her non-dominant hand, but having to extend her fingers and hold them still for that long would be simply impossible.

"I may not need it, but...I have heard it said that better to have such, and not need it, than to be in need and be lacking, so I shall accept. And if I do not need it now, who knows what might happen, after all?" She shrugged at that. "I am grateful for your care."

[tougholdmodel]

His words were not intended to lessen the feat of her defense against the overconfident criminals. He was quite impressed in truth, but he has seen too many times how poorly such a scenario can end. No amount of money or inconvenience is worth risking a gravestone.

Given her consent to proceed, he goes about emptying the bin he brought with him onto the table. Spreading a drape first, he prepares all the items needed for the simple procedure. Opening a package of stacked square gauze, a hint of his skill shows as he does so upside down to rest the sterile dressing on the paper lid while emptying the plastic container. Into that container, he pours a clear liquid from a brown glass bottle - the lidocaine. Using the top square piece of gauze, he deposits another below into the liquid to soak it up and puts the gauze he touched in the bin. Opening a suture kit and bottle of saline, he then steps over to the sink to wash for the procedure. As he washes his hand thoroughly, he continues the conversation, “That’s the idea. Sometimes having the option is enough, but when you have a kid to keep up with, you need your sleep.”

Hands dried after, he slips two layers of gloves onto his large hands. Motioning to the bin, he picks up the bottle of saline, “Hand up here. We’ll start with the rinse. It may seem like a lot of saline for something so small, but the better we wash it out, the less likely you’ll end up with any infection.” Once her hand is over the bin, he starts to pour the saline slowly into the opening, and with his fingers, carefully manipulates the skin of her knuckle to flush the corners. The saline at least feels like water. Half a bottle later, he picks up some dry gauze to pat her skin and the split dry. Then, removing one glove to a clean one, he picks up the lidocaine soaked gauze and tucks an edge into her cut before wadding the rest on top. “Should only take a few minutes to go numb, but some people take longer than others.” He strips the other top glove and replaces the second layer on both before he sets to prep the thread in the suture kit.

[darkenedmoon]

Normally, Yotsuyu isn't the type to be quietly obedient, but she really does not want a scar, so she is going to listen to Dr. Rosenberg's instructions to the very letter. She nods, then. "A teenager, especially. He's a good boy, but he's got energy. Certainly more than I do. I'd make millions if I could bottle and sell it." Chuckling a little at that comment.

She watches him work after she lays her hand where he instructed her to. "Yes...I expect if it did get infected, it would be more likely to scar then as well, correct? Do what you must." Surely the painkiller would help, but whatever it took was what she would do.

It does take a few minutes for her finger to numb--she shakes it a little, but resists poking it--likely she'd have to start the process over again. Her other hand certainly was not clean!

"I think it might be ready, sir. If it isn't quite, you won't find me whinging about it--do what must be done." Likely, Yotsuyu had dealt with worse in the past--or even within the past 24 hours, she mused.

[hardtoignore]

What was with all the people he liked getting hurt and traumatized? It had hardly been a week into July but it was already shaping up to be the worst month of 2020 by far in Clarence's book.

While there was a chance he would run into Elliott here, he was willing to take that chance. It wasn't like they weren't friends anymore but they... they needed their space. But Yotsuyu's health was more of a priority than Clarence's own feelings, so he rushed over. Thankfully, without her being in critical condition the wait to see her wasn't long.

"H-hey, Yotsuyu," he said, a bit breathless from having biked over at full speed. He brought with him a few fantas from the soda machine in the waiting room, offering one to her. "Not sure if you can drink this, but I figured... you might need some sugar."

[darkenedmoon]

"Clarence! I am all right--did Elliott tell you I was here?" She had to bite her lip a little--she knew there'd been some friction between them, but it did gladden Yotsuyu's heart to see Clarence, at the very least.

"They are not admitting me, I am waiting on a prescription given to me by Dr. Rosenberg, so I am allowed sugar, as you say." Normally, a soda isn't her first choice as a drink, but she's thirsty, she's certain her blood sugar is dropping, and the idea of a flavored drink at that moment sounds fantastic. "Which do you prefer? Not that they had a great selection, I am sure." Still, he was gracious enough to offer, she'd take the lesser flavor in his scheme of things.

"I was just roughed up a bit by some ruffians. The police have taken a report; I am mostly free to go, but I figure best have medication I do not need, than need it and be lacking. I've a lovely black eye and a single stitch and the rest does not bear mentioning."

[traceofeffort]

Yotsuyu was a friend in her own right, but after her last week, Lisa felt even less like she wanted to let the older woman go through something traumatic - or the aftermath thereof - alone. So when she heard something had gone down, Lisa had rushed to the hospital. Sure, she could have used the network, but that's so impersonal for something like this! And she'd worry less seeing Yotsuyu in person. Lisa knew how she hid things she didn't want to talk about. Can't do that so readily in person, she'd found.

She didn't wait for Elliott - Yotsuyu would probably mask at least a little of how bad off she was from her son - and just blitzed her way over, concerned. Not quite enough to just hoof it, taking the bus system as close as it'd get her, but still worrying a bit. She wasn't too hard to track down, and when Lisa found her, she let out a breath. Granted, Lisa herself probably still looked a bit worse for wear; she hadn't let Elliott heal her, so some of the bruises and cuts on her own arms and hands were still there, but she wasn't worried about that now. "Yotsuyu! Are you..." She'd opened her mouth before she really surveyed the damage, and paused as she found pretty quickly it was probably largely cosmetic, but still. "Are you all right? I came as soon as I heard."

[darkenedmoon]

She did startle a little--she hadn't expected Lisa to show up--but really, Yotsuyu probably should have. She gave the younger woman a slight smile--likely due to the black eye.

"I'll be all right. They did not do any lasting damage. I think I may have done more lasting damage to the ruffians' pride, truth be told. Though the doctor scolded me a bit, rightfully. He told me I was lucky they were not carrying firearms, and he was right."

It wasn't usual for Yotsuyu to seem sheepish, ever, but she was at least chagrined at the moment. "What happened to you, dear?" Normally Lisa didn't have so many cuts and scrapes!

[traceofeffort]

Lisa let out a long breath at the assurance; she'd been somewhat worried, and it was refreshing to have something go reasonably well for a change... even if that story chilled her to the bone. "He's right, you were lucky. That sounds pretty scary, and I'm glad you're okay. And besides, it's not like I can talk, after-"

Ah, she'd have to talk about it anyway. Her just desserts, clearly. Well, at least it wasn't a terrible segue. "-after I ended up in a bit of a fight myself, on the other side. It was kind of my fault, depending on how you look at it, but still. I should have..." She grimaced. "Well, I suppose I was out of my mind at the time, I can't say I should have known better, but it still bugs me."