Hospital Visit [Private James Gray]

Spring sat in the stark white hospital style bed looking down at the food on the tray before her. She had been hurt pretty bad yesterday, most of it self inflicted unintentionally. Most of her wounds were no worse than scrapes and buses, though the worst two were a dislocated shoulder and a minor concussion. The school had a full medical staff with doctors on call twenty-four seven so she didn’t have to leave to go get her shoulder put back in place, though she had passed out when they did. Now her right arm was in a sling and several parts of her body were bandaged, unfortunately her scars weren’t right now so she did her best to hide under the blankets they had provided her. Without an eye patch she had moved her bags to cover her left eye and the scars around it. Even so she didn’t feel properly covered as she was, with only blankets and a hospital gown on.

She sighed at the food in front of her. With her right arm inoperable she would have toe eat with her left arm, but each time she tried to her own instincts made her hide it back under the blanket. Sure she had a privacy curtain to keep others from seeing her, but even so she was still in a public place and a nurse could walk in at any second. Spring didn’t want anyone to have to see the horror that was her scars, not if it could be helped anyway. Only in this case it meant that she had been staring at the food without touching it for about an hour. It looked really good, a Salisbury steak with garlic mashed potatoes a side of steamed vegetables and a large glass of orange juice, but by now the food had gone cold and the drink warm. A grumbling sound came from Spring’s midsection and her hand reached out for the fork only for her to dart it back under the blanket once again.

James hummed a wordless tune as he wandered around the infirmary. As a medical major, it is rather prudent of him to volunteer in to help the medical staff in healing with the injuries sustained by students on campus. Not only for the the benefit of the staff having more hands on deck to accommodate the growing number of hunters and huntress entering Syne, but it also allows him a chance to practice his hand at healing in a controlled and safe environment. Of course, with his sights on being a field medic, he would need more real-world experience.

As of now, he was just walking from area to area, helping out wherever he was needed. The medical staff always needed assistance, no matter how little it may be. From fetching clipboards to measuring blood pressure, there was never a shortage of work. The funniest instance of the day, he would like to think was that of a bear faunus, who managed to get his head stuck in a beehive, more than likely attracted to the scent of honey.

How stereotypical.

The young hunter stifled a chuckle at the memory before looking over to his left and stopping dead in his tracks. He read the name written on the white board next to the area covered by the privacy curtain multiple times to confirm just who was hidden by the sheet. He sighed lightly before turning on his heel and approached the sheet and opened it just enough to slip through and closed it once he had fully passed.

There, dressed in the typical medical gown all students are forced to wear during a prolonged stay, was the patient in question - staying at the tray of food with obvious hunger in her eyes. He had to stifle a laughter at the sight before seeing the cause of her inability to eat. Her right hand was placed in a sling which meant that the only operable limb to use was her left: the scarred one. Knowing how the girl felt about her disfiguration, he connected the dots on why the food was left untouched. The girl felt nervous that someone would come through the curtain and see her scars, so she kept them hidden.

Smiling slightly, he decided he would help her out. Taking a quick look at the clipboard hanging on the bed, he nodded upon knowing the current conditions of the girl in front of him before lightly coughing to grab her attention.

"Hello Spring. It seems that you are my patient for the day."

Walking closer to the scarred girl, he took a seat on the bed and cut up a piece of the steak and hovered it in front of the girl's mouth. "Truthfully, I'm not really supposed to be doing this. But, for you, I'll make an exception." The young fox winked at the girl. He supposed the staff wouldn't mind he stayed in this area. There were plenty of people still around to help.

*Stare*… *grumble*… *stare*… *grumble*… This cycle continued as Spring brought her left arm out, and then returned it each time. She hadn’t eaten all day, and yet she still couldn’t bring herself to eat. At this rate she was going to go hungry until her arm was healed, or she got bandages for her left arm. In either case she would remain hungry for now… even if the food was right there. Spring’s eye never left the plate, and as such she didn’t notice when someone came into her sectioned off area. It wasn’t until he drew her attention with a cough that Spring realized someone was even there.

And at that realization her eye went wide and her heart immediately sped up. What was James doing here? She knew he was a medical major and that he worked here, but when she looked over the schedule she had “appropriated” for who was supposed to be here today she didn’t see his name. Unlike their previous encounters, this time she didn’t have the option to run away when she got too worried. No, this time she was stuck here the whole time. A slight panic began to set in.

“Um… I… I...” She stuttered as James walked over to the bed and sat down. When he began to cut the steak and his intentions became obvious a deep red blush began to work its way over her face. When he held up the food to her mouth Spring was hesitant but accepted, though her chewing stopped when he said he shouldn’t be doing this. Suddenly she gulped hard, swallowing the half chewn food with a bit of discomfort. “P… p… p… please… d… d… d… d… d… don’t get in trouble because of m… m… m… me. I... I'll be fine,” She said immediately followed by a loud grumble from her stomach.

The fox nurse smiled loosely when the girl, though hesitant, leaned forward and took the piece from off the utensil. He idly acknowledge how cute she looked with that blush that had spread across her face. Red was a good color on her. When the girl suddenly stopped in her chewing and forced herself to swallow, he grew concerned. Leaving the fork on the plate, he grabbed the cup of orange juice and held it in front of him, as he scooted closer to the bed-ridden girl.

His ever-present smile on his face, the boy's cheeks warmed up upon hearing her words of concern. "Don't worry, I won't. As my patient, the others will understand why I'm doing this. Our mission statement, after all, is to treat and care for all of you to the best of our abilities." He chuckled lightly as he heard Spring's stomach make its presence known and he gently patted it.

"It seems this one would like more." Still holding onto the glass, he cut another piece of the steak and held it up for the girl to get. "Say ah~!"

Spring looked down and away as James picked up the glass of juice. Quietly she leaned forward and took the straw in her mouth, washing down the steak she had just swallowed. “A… a… a… as long as you… d… d… d… don’t get in trouble,” Spring said just before her stomach was patted. At this sudden contact she froze. Even her breathing stopped. She didn’t know how to handle this, people normally didn’t touch her if they could avoid it. Which only made sense, who would want to touch her? None of this made any sense to her. In her mind James being this nice to her was unfathomable.

Doing as the fox asked, once again Spring opened her mouth to take the food. This time she chewed entirely before swallowing. Something came to her mind, a question. She didn’t want to ask it, but she had to know the answer. “Why… why are you so nice to me? You don’t know anything about be… about who I am… about what I’ve done…” Springs words were quiet, but strong. What little confidence she had mustered into saying this. She was sure that once she told him, once he knew, that James would leave. She didn’t want to tell him, but she knew she had to. Lying to him would be even worse than the truth.

Releasing a breath of air in relief, the medical student smiled softly as the girl he was feeding was finally taking her time to chew properly. A brow was raised in confusion as he processed the girl's question. Now that he thought about it, just why was he like this towards her. In his whole career, other than his sister, he had never been quite as caring and close to others - so what about the girl made him act the way he did?

He looked at the girl in question and contemplated her words. She was absolutely correct in that he did not know a single thing about her. All he knew was things he interpreted from first glance and what little she had told him. He knew she was in some kind of accident involving fire. He knew that she was not exactly the most social of people, only having a single friend who was currently away on some business. He honestly felt embarrassed by the lack of information he currently had and resolved to fix that.

Setting down the glass and utensil onto the tray, the young hunter gently placed his hands onto the girl's blanket-covered hand. He looked right into her eyes, care and affection shining through them. "You're right. I don't know anything about you, about who you are, about what you've done. But I want to know. I want to know you. I want to say, with confidence, that I know who Spring Plumb is. The good, the bad, the ugly. I would like to know everything. And if you're comfortable, we can start now."

No no no no no no. This was exactly what she had been worried about. Spring had been backed into a corner and this time she couldn't escape. Sure she could just curl up in a ball and be unresponsive but she knew that would only make James worry more, and she didn’t want him to do that. Her entire body tensed up from the contact, even if indirect.

When Spring had been accepted to Syne she had expected it to be hard, tough training and classes that she would probably fail. What she didn’t expect was this, it was as if James had been taken directly from a book and placed in her lap. She knew a lot about him, more than most people even, but she didn’t learn that like a normal person. Even if he thought he liked her now what would he think when he found out about her… tendencies.

But she couldn’t lie to him, or not tell him the truth. He was bound to figure out sooner or later. Better for Spring to tell him now than for him to find out later when he thought he really liked her. With a deep breath she looked back at James. Her right eye making contact with his left while her left eye was still obscured by her hair, not that it really mattered since it didn’t even work. “Okay… um… w… w…. what do you want to know… about me?” Spring asked.

The young fox hummed to himself, as he thought of the right question to start things off. There was plenty of things that he could ask. For one, he could ask about her scars. That seemed too intrusive, however, and he would wait for the girl before him to confront him about them. It seemed only right, to let her decide who should know the story behind them.

Maybe more broader? Start off with a broad question and then when work his way to specifics. Cutting up another piece of the steak, James held it up for the girl to eat while they talked, that way the food would not go to waste. The culinary staff worked hard on each meal and he will make sure the effort was not in vain.

With his question in mind, he smiled at the girl. "Well, to start things off, where are you from? Are you native to the area?"

Spring mentally prepared herself. She didn’t know what he would ask, but there were a few obvious questions. Her scars, her problems with socializing, her self deprecation. All were possible targets of his questioning. She knew she would have to answer those at some point, so she figured it would be like a bandage, better to just pull it off quick rather than slowly.

Once again Spring opened her mouth to take the food offered. It wasn’t hot anymore, but it was still pretty good. Maybe if this were some book this might have been a romantic scene. But Spring knew better, there was no way this could be anything like that. Not where she was involved.

Spring said incredibly surprised that this was his first question. It was a pretty normal one at that. Out of all the things he could have asked she didn’t expect that to be one of them. “I… grew up here… in Bellmuse.”

"Born and raised here, I see."

The young boy smiled at the girl. Based on her reaction, he inferred that she expected to ask something that was not so mundane. Well, it was always important to know where a person was raised. It connected to who they were as a person. He hummed to himself as he decided to respond to her answer with one of his own. "I was born out in the outskirts of the city. It was a Podunk town, but it was home."

He smiled sadly at the memory of his stomping grounds. It was hell, the environment was terrible, the people were trash, but it was where his family was - where they were 'buried'. Shaking his head from those thoughts, reminding himself that he still had the youngest of the three with him, his smile brightened up and he asked another question on his mind.

"Do you have any hobbies?"

Well that was relatively easy. Maybe if all his questions were like that then this wouldn’t be as hard as Spring first expected. She started to panic a little less. An eyebrow raised as James told her that he grew up nearby as well. Despite all she did know of him the farthest back she knew about him was his work as Kitsune, before that was still a mystery to her. And based on James’ reaction it didn’t seem good. Thousands of questions rushed into her head, though she would never ask them. The last thing she wanted to do was bring up bad memories for James.

And that was exactly one of the questions she didn’t want asked. Spring’s panic began to come back. How was she supposed to answer this one? She didn’t want to lie to him, but if she told him the truth he would surely think she was weird or creepy even. What was she supped to do? No… the answer was obvious. She had to tell the truth. When he ran off suddenly disgusted at her then she deserved it. Closing her eyes she prepared herself for what came next. “I… I… I watch people… follow them… and watch them...”

If he were being honest with himself, he kinda figured that to be the case. From their first interaction, he, shamefully, admitted to himself that the girl was a bit of a, well, stalker. Not that there was any wrong with that, oh no. In fact, the faunus felt honored to be followed around by such a cute girl - as himself, no less, and not as Kitsune. It made him feel good about himself. There was a reason why he had kept the identity of his alter-ego relatively hidden. Life in the spotlight was a blessing and a curse. People knew who you were, but placed you on a pedestal - made untouchable, unapproachable. Wearing the mask and the wig allowed him a degree of freedom from that.

Outwardly, his face did not betray the thoughts swirling in his mind, as his ever-present smile remained. "That..is somewhat fitting. It is odd, but it suits you. I personally don't see anything wrong with it." His laughter echoed in the area, soft and gentle as usual. "Please don't take any offense, but you do seem to be an observer. That's not necessarily a bad trait, as I'm sure you can spot details that others miss. In our line of work, that could mean the difference between success and failure."

Taking another slice of the steak, this time coupled with some mashed potatoes, he raised it for the girl to eat. Curiosity taking its hold, he asked a follow-up question. "What was the strangest you've seen?"

Spring mentally braced herself for James’ response. She fully expected him to yell at her, or maybe just get really awkward and leave. Maybe he would just leave and when she opened her eyes he would be gone and they would never talk to each other again. That would probably be the best, really. It wouldn’t be good for him to associate himself with her. Even if she never went off like she does around him people would probably start to think bad things about him if he stayed around her, and she didn’t want that.

Tentatively Spring opened her eyes as James spoke. It didn’t make sense to her. How could he be so nice to her? Maybe if she was pretty or smart or good at sports or… well anything really it would make sense for him to be nice to her. But she wasn’t any of those things. And the way he spoke, he put such a positive spin on it. Even if it didn’t make sense it made Spring wish, if only the very slightest amount, that she could maybe one day have someone as nice as James.

“S… s… strangest… thing?” Spring said her desire to answer his question making her forget about her own self-doubt. It seemed like if James kept her talking she might not have the time to think badly about herself. “T… th… there was this… um… one t… t… t… time, I… I… I… I saw a guy… uh… he… he bought a lot of cantaloupes and th… th… th… then he… went and threw them at… at someone’s car… I guess that was kind of… strange.”

A sweat-drop formed on the fox's head when the girl completely ignored the food. He supposed his question was enough to make girl unaware of the meat and mash hovering in front of her. Chuckling quietly, he placed the utensils and the food back onto the tray and nodded at her words. It certainly was strange, a man buying cantaloupes just to throw them at a car. Personally, he felt that they had gone to waste and that it was very disrespectful to intentionally harm another's property.

"That is certainly amusing. I hope the car didn't take too much damage." With a slight hum, he considered his next question. He had one in mind, that he wanted to ask, but he was unsure if it would set off any bad memories for the girl before him. If he wanted to know who she was now, he needed to know who she was back then. His smile softened as he lightly gripped her hand, the sheets being the thin layer separating them from true contact.

"How were you like as a child?"

This entire conversation had been one big emotional roller coaster. Spring thought by now that James would have left, running away from her, but he was still here. There was a conflict in her. Part of her wanted this to go on. Butterflies in her chest telling her to keep him around, but a little voice in the back of her head told her to separate herself from him. ‘You might kill him like you did to them,’ it nagged at her mind.

At James’ question Spring went stiff, her eyes opened as wide as they would go and she stared down. Memories of her family, her brothers and sisters, her mother and father… memories of the fire. Not moving, tears began to stream from her eyes. “I… I… didn’t… do much… I helped my mom… around the house... mostly,” Spring said doing the best she could not to break down entirely. She didn’t want to tell him about the fire… not yet… but maybe she had to.

The fox faunus smiled sadly as the girl spoke. The silent tears falling was testament to the sadness of the memory. The quieter the cry, the tougher the scene was. While he regretted asking the question, he managed to get a small insight into her childhood. He was satisfied with what he heard, even if it wasn't the whole story. He would wait to hear on that when she was good and ready. Scooting closer towards the teary-eyed girl, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly for a few moments before moving to wipe her tears. "It's okay to cry. I'm sorry if I brought up some difficult memories for you."

"How about a different question? How did you and your friend meet?" He hoped this divergence would be enough to get her mind off the last question. Plus, he was also curious about the one friend Spring had told him she had.

The tears flowed, but Spring remind quiet. She never was loud, even when she cried. After all she didn’t want to annoy anyone. What right did she have to make other people uncomfortable or upset because she was sad? As James wrapped his arms around her she felt the urge to run, to get way. But for once she was able to ignore that urge. There was something comforting about this. Something nice. She wanted to tell him that he didn’t have to be sorry, yet she knew she shouldn’t speak.

Once again James’ question hit a painful memory, but it wasn’t his fault. Spring’s tears didn’t stop. “After… after… my family… d… d… died… in the… fire...” she said, stopping to take a few deep breaths, “h… h… her… her dad… took care of… me.” It had been a painful time for her, but it seemed like Melody always had a positive outlook on things. If it weren’t for her Spring would probably still be in the doctor’s house, curled up into a ball and crying… or worse.

James frowned slightly and internally cursed himself. He never would have thought the two would have been connected in this way. In an attempt to take her mind off a painful memory, he brought her directly into another one. So her family died in a fire - more than likely the same fire that had given her her scars. At the very least, he was glad someone was around to take care of her during such a traumatizing event. He only had his sister with him, and he spent more time caring for her than he did himself. Impulsively, he leaned over to kiss the corner of her eyes, kissing away the tears that continued to form.

"I'm sorry that I keep bringing up terrible memories.."

The regret was ingrained deeply in his voice, soft and carried deep care for the girl before him. Lowering the blankets just enough for the girl's hands to be revealed, he tenderly held them in his own and rubbed his thumbs across the back of her hands. "I'm glad you had someone to take care of you after such an event. I should give them my regards. It is because of them that I can be here with you now."

Spring didn’t blame James. After all, how could he have known about her past? No it wasn’t his fault that his questions brought up bad memories for her. In fact she blamed herself. If he hadn’t gotten hurt before she wouldn’t have even been in this situation and this would never have happened. In a matter of less than a second Spring’s silent self degradation dissipated and was replaced by embarrassment as James kissed her face.

“No no no no…. it’s not your fault… you couldn’t have known...” Spring said rather quickly as she turned her face away. Though the tone of his voice made her internal scolding return. A deep panic began to set in as James pulled back the blanket and grabbed her hands. Both her eyes shot to her left arm, though the right one was the only one to see it. As James rubbed his thumbs across her hands Spring’s face slowly changed to one of dread. She knew what her scars felt like, after all they were on her body. She knew that they were gross and disgusting even more so to touch than to look at. In a flash she pulled her left hand from James’ and somehow got the entire arm inside of her hospital gown. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m Sorry! I’m sorry I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry I’m sorry!” Spring said panicked as she continuously bowed her head while rocking back and forth.

The nurse sighed softly as the girl reactively brought her scar-ridden arm out of his grasp and hid it in the confines of her hospital gown. Admittedly, he was impressed by the reaction and agility displayed. though his outward appearance only reflected a small dip in his smile. He shook his head lightly, as his hold on her right hand tightened. He placed his now free hand on her shoulder to steady her, preventing her rocking as he leaned forward to place his forehead on hers, effectively stopping her unnecessary bowing - though he would feel the sting of her head knocking against his later on. For now, he held his head against hers as he spoke.

"Hey now..what are you apologizing for? There's absolutely no reason for you to."

He knew the answer, of course. It was so obvious, that he would have to be blind to miss it. "Spring, please don't hide yourself from me. Even if you think that you are some freak or broken or useless, I think the opposite. You're an angel to me. You're so pretty and lovely. I may not have known you long, but I can confidently say all this of you. So please, don't cover yourself when you're around me."

Winking, he lightly chuckled at his following words. "Besides! As your nurse, I would need to see them for medical reasons. It would be much easier if you did not shy away when you're with me normally."

With a thud Spring’s head collided with James’ sending a sharp pain across her forehead. Her panic only worsened. If it hurt that much for her it must have been the same or worse for James. ‘Stupid girl! You hurt him! What good are you when you always hurt those closest to you? Worthless!’ she thought to herself solemnly. “I’m sorry!” Spring said both apologizing for apologizing and for smacking James’ head.

Spring’s eyes went wide as she looked at James, her left eye still covered by her bangs. “You mean it?” She asked as tears began to well up in her eyes again. She didn’t know how to deal with this. No one had never said this to her before. “I… I… I… I’m sorry!” was the only thing Spring could get out as she started to softly cry again as she fell forward into James. A part of her wanted to back away, to stay far from James. ‘you’ll destroy him, just like you did everything you cared about.’ the same inner voice told her. But a silent part of her told her to hold him close, to never let him go.

James smiled loosely as the girl asked for confirmation as to the validity of his words. It seemed to him that the girl might think that she was dreaming. It was honestly cute to him, seeing her wide-eyed expression. She was just so honest and pure that it made his heart tingle at the thought of being with her. The waterworks started to flow once more from the girl's eyes and before he had the chance to wipe them away, the girl fell forward onto him, all the while apologizing again.

With a silent sigh, one hand raised to wipe the tears that fell onto the sheets while the other went to gently stroke her hair. His fingers ran through and in between the strands of her locks, noting just how soft it was. He was amazed by the feeling and a mild envy built as he wished he could get his hair and fur to feel the same. Leaning down, seeing as she was about chest height at the moment, and kissed the top of her head.

"Don't cry, please. Yes, I mean it. I truly do. There is nothing for you to be sorry about, silly~!"

Spring cried, softly and near silently. Ever since the fire she tried to make herself as unnoticeable as she could even when she cried. Better to cry silently and be left alone than run the risk of upsetting someone else. She always put others before herself in every situation. Her right hand tightly gripped the fabric of James’ shirt as her face was buried in his chest. He told her she didn’t have to apologize yet the only words that came to mind were “I’m sorry” over and over again.

The strange feeling that had been building in her chest was beginning to slowly form into something that was more recognizable. Spring wasn’t fully sure what it was yet, but it was familiar and comforting. It didn’t stop her near silent tears but it helped. Ever since the accident she had felt like a freak, a broken girl that was only good for making fun of. No one had ever told her she was beautiful before, and she had never asked, as in her mind she was far from it. But now… now here was a handsome man who called her things like “angel” and “lovely” it didn’t make sense to her, but it did feel good. “Th… th… th… thank… you.”

"I'm only stating facts, Spring. Anyone who doesn't see the beauty and value in you has to the blindest person in the world."

He smiled softly at the girl crying into his chest. He hoped that with this, some of her self-doubt would be washed away; that she could somewhat look past what had been done in the past and open herself up again. The chances were slim, having a faint idea of how deep the pain ran, but he still held hope. It pained him to see the girl so distraught and this went past his role as a nurse and affected him as a person. A person that, dare he say, had a crush on the girl before him. There was this swelling in his chest, the same feelings of affection he held for his sister, but, different.

Rather than wiping away the tears that still fell, instead letting them flow, he wrapped his arms around the girl's waist and held her close, as tight as he can. He heard the curtains slightly shift and turned in the direction of the noise to catch the eye of someone looking in. It was the eye of the head nurse on the floor, checking in on the different patients, most likely. He slightly shook his head and the eye closed before the curtains were pulled over it. Turning his attention back to the girl, all he could do now was place kisses on the top of her head, letting her tears and her sorrow flow, as he held her.

He would stay with her during her times of tears and he would smile for her during her days of joy.