Work Text:
“I can’t believe that I was so stupid to trip over my own feet,” Adam lamented to his best friend Billie.
“You’re the uncoordinated fuck who decided to play kickball with little kids,” Billie said with no sympathy as she killed the ignition. “On Christmas Eve, no less. You’re lucky today is my day off.”
“And I’m lucky that I did this at work. It’s workman’s comp this way,” Adam agreed.
The two exited the car, with Adam cradling his right wrist to his chest.
“You know, there is one thing that I’m sad about,” Billie said as they walked towards the ER’s pedestrian entrance.
“And what’s that?” Adam asked dryly.
Billie flashed a grin at him as the doors opened. “I wasn’t there to see you completely eat shit.”
“Fuck you,” Adam said before he approached the reception desk, beaming at the nurse doing triage. “Hi, I think that I might’ve broken my wrist.”
“Your name?”
“Adam Milligan.”
“Date of birth?”
“September 29, 1990.”
“Are you still living at 1486 Norry Road?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Next to him, Billie was having a difficult time not laughing. Adam threw a bitchface at her.
“Your phone number is still the same?”
“Yes,” Adam replied.
“Is your primary physician still Dr. Turner?”
“Yes.”
“How did you think you broke your wrist?”
Adam sighed and gave a shrug. “I was playing kickball with a bunch of third graders and while doing so, I got into a pissing contest with the parking lot,” he said. “The parking lot won.”
Billie was now giving a physical effort not to just guffaw.
“About how long ago did this happen?” The nurse asked in a calm voice.
“Eh,” Adam checked his watch. “About two hours ago.”
“Do you know when your last tetanus shot was done?” she asked.
“Roughly four years ago,” Adam replied. “Oh, and this is a workplace related injury.” He grabbed the piece of paper in his pocket with his work’s information, as well as his supervisor’s phone number, and handed it to the triage nurse. He signed the necessary paperwork and went to sit down in blissfully quiet and mostly empty waiting room.
“This is the reason I’m glad that you work at a daycare,” Billie snickered as she pulled out her phone to take pictures.
“I hate you so much,” Adam said with no venom in his voice as he indulged her.
“You should’ve said that you fell out of Santa’s sleigh,” Billie said, cackling. “Where’s your elf ears?”
Adam gave her a plaintive look. “They’re at work,” he said.
“Adam?”
It didn’t take long after that before the ER doctor on duty came back to see Adam… and holy hell, he was hot. Dark hair, piercing green eyes, muscular build… Adam was fairly certain that he was drooling.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Milton,” the handsome doctor said. “I hear that you fell?”
“Out of Santa’s sleigh,” Billie confirmed.
“Shut up, you,” Adam said, turning back to the doctor. “She’s a classmate of mine,” he explained, “and I fell playing kickball.”
Dr. Milton chuckled. “So how did you fall playing kickball?”
“I was playing kickball,” Adam started off by stating an obvious fact, like a moron. “And I tripped while I was running to second base. I put my arms out to stop my fall and I landed with most of my weight on my right side.”
“On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?” Dr. Milton asked him.
“It’s about a five or so,” Adam said.
“And have you taken anything for your pain since the injury occurred?” Dr. Milton asked as he donned a pair of gloves.
“No,” Adam said.
Dr. Milton- or rather, Michael, as the name tag read- began to gently check Adam’s hand, arm, and wrist, going through a series of motion range tests. Billie sat quietly on her phone, no doubt laughing at Adam online while her best friend discussed with the doctor about the pain.
“Well, let’s hope that it’s just a bad sprain, but we won’t know until we look at some X Rays,” Dr. Michael Milton said. “So, let’s go in and take a look, and then we’ll go from there. Do you want or need anything for the pain?”
“Yes, please,” Adam said.
“I’ll have a nurse bring you some ibuprofen,” the doctor promised before he left.
Adam turned to Billie, who was now smirking.
“He’s cute,” she said.
“I thought that you didn’t find any man attractive,” Adam said.
“Just because I’m a lesbian in a relationship with a kickass lady doesn’t mean that I can’t find men attractive,” Billie snorted. “And besides, he’s got that timeless beauty to him.”
“I just hope that I don’t say anything stupid to him,” Adam said.
“Knowing you and how you act around men and women that you find attractive?” Billie asked with an elegantly raised brow. “You will.”
“Thank you so much for the vote of confidence,” Adam said dryly.
“Don’t mention it.”
“Hey, Adam?” a new face appeared. “I’m Max, the oncall radiologist. Let’s go get those X Rays on your wrist done.”
After the X Rays were done, a room change was completed, Adam was given some Motrin, and a vitals check later, Dr. Michael Milton came back with the X Rays.
“It looks like you cracked your radius,” the doctor explained, showing them the X Rays. Adam had to agree. “So what we’re going to do is throw you into a temporary splint and have you make an appointment with orthopedics. It may take a little bit for that appointment with the holidays, but you’ll get one. And if it’s more convenient for you, we do have an orthopedics area on campus.”
“Alright, thank you,” Adam said.
“I’m going to put you on light duty at work, as well. Don’t be lifting kids,” the doctor added. “So let’s get you splinted up.”
Adam carefully removed his Christmas sweater and repressed a shiver as Dr. Milton began wrapping his arm in cotton to act as a barrier for the splint.
Dr. Milton measured the splint against Adam’s arm to make sure that it was a good fit before smiling at him. “Alright, I’ll be right back. I need to get this ready,” he said. “I need to get the splint wet before I put it on you, and then as it dries, it hardens.”
For some reason, the influence of his older half-brother’s lack of filter in these situations came into Adam’s brain and he spoke. “Normally, it’s hard because it’s wet.”
Billie started to crack up laughing as both the doctor and his patient began to turn bright red.
“I’m so sorry,” Adam said. “Please forgive me, I forgot myself.”
“Pain does tend to make us say some strange things that we wouldn’t say otherwise,” Dr. Michael said. “I’ll go get the splint wet.”
Billie was still laughing as the hot doctor left the room and Adam threw his fleece sweatshirt at her one-handed. “Shut up, Billie!”
“I knew that you were going to say something stupid,” she giggled, “but I didn’t expect it to be dirty too!!”
“I am going to have you smother me with the pillow that’s under my arm,” Adam groaned.
“Nope,” Billie snickered. “That was… oh God. That was perfect. ”
Dr. Milton came back, and soon, Adam’s arm was completely splinted up.
“Thank you, Dr. Milton,” Adam said.
“Of course, Adam,” Michael replied with a smile. “I’m sorry that we met under these circumstances. I hope that, in spite of your wrist, that you and your friend have a merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” Adam and Billie replied back.
Nodding, Michael Milton, M.D., left the room.
Ten minutes later, a nurse came by with the paperwork about Adam’s visit, including his order for light duty at work. Adam looked through all of it and noticed a black scrawl on the back of one of the papers. He waited until he and Billie were in the car to read it and he giggled.
Rx: a date possibly for Friday at 7 PM? Michael. Underneath of it, Michael’s phone number was written underneath.
“What’s so funny?” Billie asked.
Adam showed Billie, flushing brightly.
She read it and smirked. “Nice job,” she said. “You got yourself a date.”
“I did,” he agreed, relaxing.
It was a Christmas gift he didn’t expect.