Just a little more complicated then that, Rated M

[Aurora Bailey]

Hospitals. The simple word still made this hunter's skin crawl. Vampires, demons, spirits, rotting bodies and blood being splattered over her clothes she could deal with, but mention a hospital to her and there was noticeable hesitation. Despite the unnaturally sanitary feel, Charlie had forced herself to make the trip to see "Uncle" Vic, who, from what she gathered out of the email she had received earlier that day was recovering from some sort of surgery.

White coats, ill and damaged people filled the main waiting room as she approached the desk, "Can you tell me which -" the nurse behind the counter just stared at her, "My dad is recovering from surgery, name's Vic Tussel, which room is he in?" she asked adding a hint of worry to her voice.

"Room 234 dear." the older woman replied sweetly before going back to a folder of paperwork.

Looking around for a hint as to which direction the room would be in, the kind woman pointed over to the guest elevator and a map of the layout. Giving a nod in thanks, Charlie walked over, glancing at the room lay outs and stepping in with an excited young girl and her father. The ride seemed to last forever for just a second floor trip, and the bouncing little child next to her was unable to contain any excitement and promptly shouted, "I'm getting a baby brother today!"

"Second floor-"

"Good for you," she said with a false smile, stepping out as soon as the doors were open. It wasn't that she hated children, but there were more urgent matters and more personal matters to deal with then get excited over and excited little girl awaiting the arrival or first time seeing her new baby brother. A quick flash of the first time her own brother was brought home but with a turn down the hall it was gone.

Past the break room and to the first room with a patient in it, the plaque read "ROOM 234".

The room was, like the rest of this building, uncomfortably sterile. White walls, white sheets, white bed, white everything but the uncomfortable guest chair shoved into the furthest corner. Lingering in the threshold she looked in on her father's best friend and gave him a weak smile as he finally recognized who was standing there.

"Been a while," she smiled weakly, stepping into the room and standing over his bed looking at the morphine drip off the side of the bed to the buzzer in his hand. "How you holding up Vic?"

A silent shrug was all she received as a reply as he looked around the room with an unfocused stare as if seeing everything again for the first time after waking up.

"Guess they gave you something good." Wood clanked on the tile as she dragged it closer to the bed, a small click that seemed amplified by the emptiness of the room was heard as it triggered a drop of morphine.

"What are you doing here kiddo? Last I heard you were back in Kentucky, what were you doing there?" the familiar voice asked, bringing a lighthearted chuckle from her.

If only she could tell him the truth, but the truth would probably give the guy another heart attack. "Oh you know," she shrugged, "Work has me traveling all over. Research, collecting stories, company loves all that folklore for those books, ya know?" Well, it wasn't all entirely a lie, she had to give herself credit for that. "Collected a few stories on demons, nothing unusual just sent it back to the guy who collects all those stories."

"Must be nice being able to travel as much as you do. You move around even more than your daddy did." A kindred smile graced the man's face, a flickering memory of her father could be seen on his face before it faded.

"Yeah, well what can I say? My job is busier than more people realize."

[Kelsey Collins]

WE WERE MEANT TO LIVE FOR SO MUCH MORE, HAVE WE LOST OURSELVES?

The day was going by slowly, and Kelsey couldn't help but blame the Apocalypse. While the news itself had been shocking, it had also shattered her. She was a Nurse Practitioner and a hunter; both careers centered on saving people. And with the Apocalypse in full swing, there no longer seemed to be any reason to even try. The world was going to end, right? So what did it matter if she gave up her jobs? What did it matter that people died because she had given up -- because she could have saved them when someone else couldn't? To say Kelsey felt cynical would have been an understatement. Her entire world had been turned upside-down in less than half an hour. She had rebelled against the news at first, had called Dean a liar and a demon, but now she accepted the truth for what it was. Earth had become a free-for-all. Angels and demons were at war even now, and what was she doing? Making rounds like nothing had changed. It disgusted her and made her feel ashamed, but the worst part was that she didn't even have any excuses. She had tried to argue that she couldn't help fight because she was a human. That didn't hold water, though, because she had spent years battling it out with all sorts of monsters. The "human factor" was a crock and Kelsey knew it.

After that she had tried to say it wasn't her fight. The Apocalypse was something between angels and demons, not angels, demons, and people. But that excuse didn't work either, and Kelsey was left feeling worse off because of her selfishness. She could help fight just fine; she just didn't want to. And that just made her feel even more ashamed because, really, sometimes one person could make all the difference. What if she didn't help and the world fell to ruin? Still, Kelsey didn't buy that either. Sure she could help fight and all, but she wasn't special. The tides wouldn't turn in humanity's favor just because of her, which left Kelsey scrambling to do whatever she could. And, at the moment, that meant trying to make sense of her life again. She didn't want to compare the news to Katrina. A large part of her rebelled said that Katrina had been so much worse because it had affected her personally, but... Well, the Apocalypse did too. It was far more serious, if anything, because it affected everyone. Fuck, it meant the world would end. How could she stand there and say Katrina had been worse? In the end, Kelsey settled for saying that people were given life changing news every day. They had to reevaluate their lives as a result -- everything from beliefs to opinions to what they liked and disliked. Katrina had done that to her; now the Apocalypse would too. She wanted to at least be grateful she and her loved ones were safe for the time being. Other people were starving to death; other people were dying of terminal illnesses. Other people would never get another chance. At least she and those she loved most were alive and well, and somehow that made Kelsey feel a little safer.

It was with that in mind that she stopped by room two thirty-four. Maybe she couldn't stop the Apocalypse, but that didn't mean she had to give up completely. There were people who still needed her -- people she could still save. And while Kelsey's mind said it didn't matter, that the Apocalypse would kill everyone anyway, her heart said that continuing to work was the right thing to do. So it was with a deep, calming breath that she finally found the courage to open the door. Things hadn't gone to Hell yet. And who knew? Maybe they would all be saved. For now, though, Kelsey would put on her best smile and keep on going -- just like always. "Well, hey there, Mister Tussel!" She quietly shut the door behind her, and made her way to the man's bedside. "How are you feeling today?" The routine check was a simple one. She would make sure everything was in order and then go to the next room. It wasn't difficult, but the stability gave Kelsey something to hold on to. "I see you have a visitor," she said at length, placing her tired green eyes on the young brunette who sat opposite from her patient. "My name's Kelsey Collins." She had to remain professional in spite of everything, which was probably the one thing she could do besides taking care of patients. "Who might you be?"

TAGGED : AURORA : 776 WORDS : OUTFIT : MADE BY AMMYLOUISE