Nursing Practice (Open)

[Deleted]

It was somehow empty. Jack couldn't possibly understand how the Infirmary could ever, ever be unoccupied. The Titans were literally a bunch of reckless teenagers fighting criminals-- they have powers, some of them, but they could still get hurt. He wondered if it was just pride, keeping them out of the infirmary. He wondered if they just wanted to pretend they were invincible.

No one was invincible. Not even Ecto, with his intangibility and other defensive skills. Well... Todd might be invincible, but Jack sure wasn't, and it was his body that was at risk. Maybe being dead was the only way to be invincible. Maybe all the Titans should just die and becomes ghosts.

Jack listened closely inside his own head for Todd. The tingle in the back of his skull was there, reminding him that although he was walking on his own two feet right now, searching drawers and examining supplies with his own hands, his freedom was temporary, and a priveledge.

As far as supplies went, the Titans were well-stocked. In fact, most of the kits they had were professional, things that might be found in hospitals. They might have been donations, or purchased with funds, or perhaps supplied by the government? He would make a mental note to ask Robin, if he were allowed to have control when anyone was around in the first place.

Of course, then he wouldn't be here.

He opened a filing cabinet, probably one of the few left, since everything was stored in computer bases (in fact, these logs were probably backed up digitally as well), and read through a list of injuries, and illnesses treated by various Titans, and made mental notes of what he would have done differently.

You should ask if you could take charge of the Infirmary, he told Todd, who didn't respond and... was being unusually quiet. Hibernating, maybe. Apparently possessing someone 24/7 took a lot of energy.

Hope swelled up in his chest, but he smothered it quickly. Too much emotion like that would wake up his captor. He would have to bide his time, now wasn't the time for an escape attempt.

How could he escape?

[Silv]

Red. All Robin could remember was the color red. It was everywhere. It had always been a favorite color of his, but he knew it had other connotations since he had left the circus. There was the color red and gunshots. The color red and laughter ringing through his ears. Now, there was the color red, but it was Starfire's hair. There was wind, warm arms around him. Flight. All he could remember was taking a blow to the back of the head. Robin couldn't remember who had dealt it in the heat of battle, but the truth was, he'd been out for a few seconds. He was slightly disoriented from the head wound that had bled everywhere, was having trouble breathing (though that might have been from fractured ribs he hadn't treated after the last fight), and was just generally a mess. To put it simply: he was a sad, sad little boy. He recognized the smell of the infirmary before he realized what he was looking at. His nose wrinkled delicately in the wake of so much antiseptic. Not that it could be helped. He was fairly certain there was no convincing anyone that he was okay even if his head had stopped bleeding by now. The gash was on the left side of his head, nestled in his hair, there was dried blood visible on his ear. It wasn't visible in his hair, masked by the darkness and the hairgel. The gash might need stitches. Robin couldn't see it to tell. Nor was he able to be considered of right mind enough to make such a decision. Robin fidgeted when he was set down on one of the beds in the infirmary, remembering a time that the team had secured him in there for safety's sake. The boy didn't mind being in the room, but he did not like being on the bed. “I'm fine,” he protested as he lifted his head up, leaving a brown stain on the while paper beneath his head. He was obviously not fine. His eyes took a moment to catch the other person in the room before they finally settled on Ecto...or tried to, anyway. “Ecto, tell her I'm fine.”

[Elenaphant]

No amount of pride was going to keep Starfire from worrying. There wasn't a protest in all the known languages of this universe that was going to stop her from carrying their bleeding leader into that infirmary. How she managed flight was beyond her ability to comprehend. That was probably it; she wasn't thinking. Tamaraneans lived dichotomous lives of love and war. Their instincts were to revel in the sights and sounds of battle. Red was a glorious colour on someone else. It was warm and slick in her hands. It seeped through fingertips as she cradled this all too fragile ally of hers. He needed help and fast. Maybe the hospital would have been a better option, but the Titans relied on their own facilities in order to preserve their secrecy. She had expected that the place would be empty, but she was relieved to find one other person. Apparently Robin, coming to, noticed this as well. I'm fine. Tell her I'm fine. She was placing him on the table, but she was scared that any movement was going to hurt him more. “Please don't move,” she pleaded as placed one hand to the back of his neck, supporting his head as she, with trembling fingers, parted the soft hair that was slick with blood. It didn't seem like the skull was pressed inward, though the cash was open and deep. There was risk for infection, she knew from basic knowledge. He would need antibiotics and for it to be cleaned. “Ecto, could you clean the wound? I-I do not...” She didn't know what to do. There was so much blood, and whenever it came to her friends' welfare-- particularly his—she got very nervous. “He will be well? You can fix this?”

Cyborg had been slower; he needed to follow in the T-Car and once Starfire had got it in her head that Robin was hurt, there was no catching up to her. He could still hear the sound of the crack when metal collided with the skull. Though the weapon was dull, the edge had still cut a gash and there had been blood. Robin had lost consciousness immediately and had fallen forward. An X-ray was in order to determine the damage to the skull, but judging by the kind of wound it was he didn't think their leader would need surgery. Stitches and an antiseptic swipe yes, and he'd need a full check up that involved something he already knew would be met with protest. When he parked his car in the garage and got up, Starfire had already set Robin down. He looked at Ecto, figuring the ghost-boy may as well play nurse to his doctor. “Got experience patching people up?” he asked as he began to set up the X-ray machine.

[Deleted]

Things seemed to be happening to quickly. suddenly Titans were rushing into the room, and Jack's stomach jumped into his throat.

This was it, he thought, Todd was going to jump back into action, take over before Jack even had the chance to help. He shut his eyes and braced himself, waiting... but nothing happened. He was just standing in front of three of the five original members looking like a fool.

Should he tell them he was trapped? A hostage in his own body? One look at Robin and guilt flooded him. Guilt and duty. No, there were more important things at hand. Saving people ran in his blood. With everything his father taught him, he would try to make him proud.

He rushed up to Robin, immediately running a sterilized cloth under warm water and wiping gently at the blood and gel, making the would more visible. Once he could see it properly, he pressed a dry cloth to it, pressing only just hard enough to slow the bleeding. He didn't want to press much harder, in case the skull was fractured. They would need to take an X-ray.

Robin was talking, but Jack was barely listening. Something about being fine.

"You're not fine, but you're going to be."

He looked over his shoulder at Starfire. She sounded so worried. She cared for Robin so much. She echoed the voices of so many worried wives, friends, sisters, daughters back in his ER. 


"I will clean it, but you have to keep applying pressure-- but not too much! Be gentle, I know how strong you are." He handed Robin off to her, getting out a small light and moving in front of him.


"Shit, your mask," he growled. "I need to see your PUPILS, dude!" Frustrated, he grabbed a seeing-eye test and held it a few feet away from the hero.


"Can you read what's in front of you?"

That's about the time Cyborg came in. He was relieved to see him go straight to the X-Ray machine, he could barely take care of Robin and work the machine at the same time.


"Yeah, plenty. I used to train in the Emergency Room with my father. I went to college early for it."

[Silv]

Color exploded in front of Robin's eyes when Starfire parted the hair near the gash on the side of his head. The boy inhaled quickly before he did his best to regulate his breathing again and pretend that it hadn't hurt what she'd done. Of course, that wasn't the end of it. Ecto had his turn and the pain was vivid and bright. The boy made a moaning noise, his eyes screwing shut behind the mask as the wound was cleaned. As soon as it was over he bit his lip, as though embarrassed about the pain he'd displayed, and waited for the pain in his lip to overtake the pain in his head. It sooo wasn't working. But he stopped biting his lip before he drew blood. Mostly because the boy had spoken. Ecto was not the pushover Robin had wanted him to be. The boy scowled at him when the ghost-boy disagreed with him and sided with the princess. "Of course I'm going to be fine," Robin responded crossly. "Because I am fine." But, apparently, his words meant nothing in the world of medicine because he was being shoved back at Starfire like a hot potato Robin and she was suddenly the one touching his aching head. Suddenly there was a bright light. Robin's masked eyes narrowed at Ecto, armed with a flashlight, who seemed intent on tormenting him further. At the mention of his mask the boy's scowl set even deeper. "The mask stays on," he intoned with more venom than probably required. But he was frustrated with all of the hullabaloo. Especially since all he really wanted to do was sleep. Even if he knew he really shouldn't. The ghost-boy was holding a piece of paper a few feet away from him. Robin stared at it blankly, attempting to focus on the test. "Just because I got hit on the head doesn't mean I need glasses," the Boy Wonder, and world's worst patient, grumbled in an ornery fashion. Cyborg was an unwelcome addition to the infirmary and the commotion. "I'm fine." Robin complained to his half-mechanized friend who was setting up a complicated array of machinery that Robin recognized as the x-ray machine. "Is this really necessary?"

[Elenaphant]

It was hard to see him in pain; and despite how gentle she tried to be he was in inevitable pain, made worse by her slightest touch. The task of applying pressure was given to her, and she pressed the cloth to his gash and supported his head the best she could. While he was being ornery she remained worried for him. No one was going to take his protests seriously.  "I'm sorry," she knew how much he detested being in this position. Partly, she apologized for failing to stop the blow that landed him here; and it was she who brought him. Her opposite hand touched the side of his face, cradling his head wishing she possessed healing powers as Raven did. Couldn't they call her? Starfire bit her lip when the mention of the mask came up. On that front there was sure to be a fight, and he was in no position for it. She felt quite useless in all this, not able to think of what she could say to resign him to his treatment nor possessing the skill to fix him.  Cyborg came into the room, and she felt a little better. Cyborg could be as stubborn as their leader, and he would control the situation.  If it came to it, she would hold him down.  "Do everything you must, Ecto. We are not leaving the room until I'm convinced he's fine."  They were never leaving this room.

[Elenaphant]

Cyborg raised his one eyebrow--two if he possessed them--when Ecto revealed a bit about himself. “Really? Well that's great; I'm glad we have someone on the team with that kind of experience.” Cyborg knew a decent amount about medical procedure, since he was the one who had to set up all the equipment as well having built-in bioscans. Science in all respects was his domain, but there was a big difference between having good general knowledge about stuff, and the kind of specialized, on-field experience that Ecto had. He considered spending some one on one time with the ghost-boy to talk about how to improve the medical bay. That was for another time, of course, considering the issues at hand. Robin as a patient was anything but, with his glare felt behind the mask and his macho need to hide the fact that a head wound was totally not a mere flesh wound. “No, we just felt like being jerks and taking time out of our busy lives to bug you. Of course it's necessary you fool. We're not going to let you walk around with a fractured skull and have you going brain-dead on us,” he masked any sympathy, or worry for that matter, with a roll of his eyes as he brought the X-Ray machine to the bedside; apologizing to Ecto for getting in the way with his bulky self. Machines gave out tough love, and that's what Robin needed right now. "Please notify me if you're pregnant or suspect you may be pregnant before undergoing this procedure." Cyborg joked to lighten the mood, while his friend was bleeding from the back of his head. "Star, sit him up while I adjust the bed. Ecto, get the lead apron if you can--we'll do the tests after determining if he needs to go under," Cyborg ordered, and by 'go under' he meant both under the scalpel and anaesthetic. A line fracture was what Cyborg was hoping for; if pieces of the bone have broken im; that was a more serious situation. "That okay?" he asked Ecto of course; Robin had no input here.

[Deleted]

"Chill man, I'm not taking off your precious mask," Jack spat, "I don't care about your secret identity, you can keep it." He threw his seeing-eye test back on the counter when Robin made it clear he wasn't going to cooperate. "Could you read any of that? I'm going to have to assume you have a concussion if you don't let me examine you."


He walked over to the wall, grabbing the lead apron off of it. Wow, it was heavy. He could lift it, it wasn't that heavy, but these sorts of things never used to be a problem back when he was allowed to take care of his own body.


Damn ghosts.

"Go under?" he repeated thoughtfully. "I can do anaesthetic, and I can do stitches and bloodwork and I've even assisted some minor surgery, but there's a point where we need to send him to the hospital."


He understood that secrecy was an issue with the Titans, but they weren't crazy, right? "You've never attempted surgery here, have you? I don't care what kind of equipment you have, we're all teenagers and there's a point where this goes from risky to totally unsafe, and I'm not even referring to the crime fighting."

[Silv]

"It's not just my identity!" Robin said with probably more force then was necessary. "I'm under orders. Unless the circumstances are extreme you cannot see my face. And since I'm not," a sharp glare was sent Cyborg's way, "about to go brain dead as you put it, this is not one of those situations." he seemed very set on this. The scowl the young leader was giving his teammates would have probably been terrifying if he weren't in the middle of sick bay with what looked like a concussion. He glared at Cyborg as his friend made jokes about him being pregnant. This is not the time. "Go under!?" Robin said it at the same time as Ecto. His masked eyes widened in horror, not at all liking the idea of being unconscious even in a room full of friends. "I do not need to go to the hospital. I'm tell you, I'm fine!" It was a lie, of course, but he really didn't like where this was going.