Hospital Coffee Doesn't Change

Participants:

abby_icon.gif megan_icon.gif

Scene Title Hospital Coffee Doesn't Change
Synopsis Two former colleagues meet up in the place that makes the most sense.
Date April 26, 2018

Elmhurst Hospital


The day starts like every other day in this place — 4am comes around, and the emergency room is busy as always. One might think that it gets boring, but for someone like Megan it's just her life. She rips off her gloves from her most recent patient, dropping them into the biowaste bin, and heads for the main desk. "Patient in Trauma 3 just got sent up for a chest scan," she tells the woman manning the desk, reaching for the chart. "What else have we got?"

"The other two that were in the waiting room are being seen right now, Nurse Young," the younger woman tells her. "The lull has hit, if you want to go grab a coffee before the next wave."

The redhead rubs the back of her neck, glancing at the clock. "Yeah… I'll do that. Try not to find me for 20 minutes," she quips lightly — because they always know where to find her. "It'll take about that long for the caffeine sludge to hit." She'll definitely take advantage of the lull, however — she's more than halfway through her early-morning rotation and can use the break.

"You and I both know, that it's never twenty minutes, it's more like, five minute to get coffee, Some fruit and yogurt if you're really lucky." Maybe the voice has some familiarity to it. Maybe not. There is that twang, only deepened by the last five or so years back in the south. Abby's there with a shoulder tote bag, jeans, a jacket and looking appropriately aged. There's a pause to flip her badge to someone and get a yellow folder with her name on it. "Or it's hours and you make balloon animals out of the gloves and spin in your chair." A glance around. "But they were desperate enough to hire me, so I suspect it's the former, more so than the latter."

Megan's copper hair is far more silver-streaked now than it was before the war, and as she turns to take in the amused speaker it's clear that the war took its toll on her. She's aging well, though, and initially her smile is the same one she would offer anyone who wandered up and joined a conversation. "Isn't that the tru—" And then blue eyes fall on Abby and the nurse goes still. Much like when Harkness turned up out of the blue, this is so far beyond unexpected that she's speechless for a moment. And then she can't help the brilliant smile. "Well as I live and breathe… now there is a sight I never thought to have the pleasure of again. I thought you'd gone OUTCONUS, lady," she greets. "You are a sight for sore eyes, Abigail." Flickering across the badge, the smile widens. "It's good to see you kept pursuing the degree."

"Outconus?" A look down to the badge and a flick of it to make it pop up for a second then back down. "I needed something to do and more stable than running around in a rig. Halfway done getting my nurse practitioners certification. Kasha keeps saying her mom is a doctor and I have to correct her. Hey Megan." As usual, no moving forward to give a hug. "Coffee? Please tell me at least coffee isn't rationed here. I may just move back to Canada."

Megan laughs. "Out of the Continental US. Sorry," she replies, clearly taking no offense at the lack of physical contact. She's never known Abby to be terribly touchy. "Well…. not rationed. At least not usually. We're struggling a little at the moment due to food thefts." There's a grimace. "But come on. We're decently well provided for, thanks to being considered a necessity. I'll buy you a cup of sludge." Megan's smile is warm. "Later, when you're not on duty, I'll show you where to go in the Marketplace to get the good stuff," she promises.

"Oh, I'm not on duty yet. I still have to find a place to stay that won't have rats. Someone said Herkimer but I took one look and left. Williamsburg in my next stop. I'm told it's nicer and my money will stretch a little further. It'll be a trip to work, but it seems to be the more kid friendly part of the safe zone." But she moves forward to fall into steps with Megan. "I took Asylum status in Canada. With Kasha. I couldn't stay. Not gutted like I was." Literally. "I came back down a few years ago. Been with my dad since he's alone now. Him and I and Kasha." Abby looks to Megan. "You okay there salty?" A polite gesture to the greying hair. "I like it."

Reaching up to run a hand across the streak of pure white that glosses above her eyes through the confined waves of hair peppered with other silvery strands, Megan grins. "Eh… too much trouble to be bothered coloring that shi— stuff," she amends politely. Abby's inherent Southern sweetness makes her unconsciously watch her tongue. "But all in all, yeah, I'm doing really well. I work here four days a week and put in a couple days holding street clinics for people who don't want to walk in here — kinda the same stuff, different year," she admits. But as they walk, Meg shudders. "Lord, don't stay in Herkimer," she comments. "It's sketchy at best. There are some places near the hospital here — I don't know what in particular, but I wound up with a place just a couple blocks over. And you're welcome to stay at my place til you find something, if you'd like," she offers easily. "How's your father doing? And Kasha?" Because it's really good to hear that Abby's father, at least, is still around and that the younger woman seems to be doing well. Asylum status in Canada definitely sounds like a good call.

"He's good. Better actually. He and Kasha are toughing it out till the end of the school year, then she'll come join me. I wanted to have things settled first." make sure she wasn't making a stupid decision. "She's almost 9. So tall. So tall Megan." She's digging into her back pocket and producing her phone, starting to swipe through pictures. "He's teaching her how to work with cars and the garden."

Pausing in their walk toward the cafeteria, Megan takes the phone and grins at the sight of the little girl. "Good God," she murmurs. "So big!" She remembers Kasha as a precocious tiny tot. Shaking her head a little, she hands the phone back and says, "She's beautiful. And honestly… it can be a little rough sometimes, being here. Seeing … all of the devastation. But there are kids around, and there are a lot of good people rebuilding," she tells Abby. "You'll find some familiar faces, for certain. Lynette and her husband are running a rehab center. A lot of the Ferry and Ferry-adjacent types are stil local. Huruma and Hana, Francois Allegre, a few others — they're all up in Rochester, but a number of them make the run down here a bit. People are rebuilding." She slants a look at Abby and admits, "It'll be really good to have you here in all of that, I think."

"I know Huruma and Francois are here. I kept in touch." If you call a call once every two years keeping in touch. "Rochester New York or…?"

Megan nods slightly. "Rochester, New York, yes," she agrees. As they reach the cafeteria, it looks much like any other hospital cafeteria. The redhead leads the way to the large and wonderous thing known as a COFFEE BAR. (It's optimistic in its name. It's really just a bunch of pots with a few flavored kinds of coffee.) "Huruma just actually finally came back full-time," she tells Abby. "She's been back and forth a lot. I can't begin to think who else is local just now… There's not a lot of people in the Safe Zone compared to what New York used to be like, but…. it's still a goodly amount of people." She offers Abby a cup so she can choose whatever she wants from the coffee machines. As she fills her own cup, Megan asks, "Will your father join you up here too?"

And the chatter goes on!


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