The Doctor's Equal (Echo and I)

[DragonMistress07]

Karma gave him a soft pat on the arm once again and a knowing smile that said that he would not judge him if he cried before going over to Lily who happily greeted him as he gave her daily check-up. He also introduced Chris to her and she shyly waved to the other male before burying her face in Karma's stomach to hide her face. He chuckled at her antics, patting her head just a bit before allowing her to head to sleep as her mother thanked him. He nodded to the woman before turning back to Chris. "You okay?" he asked softly, watching him with a small frown and s hand on his forearm to keep him balanced.

EchoMonroe

 

[EchoMonroe]

If you don't mean it, don't you say it
If you don't feel, don't you fake it
If it's a lie, baby, don't say it's true

┏━━━━━━━━━┓
₡ħяɨʂ
┗━━━━━━━━━┛

Chris chuckled a bit when the little girl hid her face. Shy kid. He watched Karma go through her check up with a sense of practiced ease. He took a deep shaky breath when Karma walked back over to him to ask if he was okay. "I will be," he answered ",I'm a bit of a softy so that just kinda...gets to me." That was true despite all Chris's military prowess and masculine looks he wore his heart in his sleeve. He tended to be very empathetic to those around him and trying to imagine what Lily and her family must be going through just hurt.

If you don't want it? Why'd you take it?
How come you bought it just to break it?
If you don't love me, don't say you do.

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DragonMistress07

 

[DragonMistress07]

Karma understood where he was coming from. God, did he understand. He had to brace himself Everytime he came here so as not to upset the little ones. He was about to respond when his pager went off. He started in surprise before gathering himself and taking a look at nthe number. "Damn. Seems I have a patient in stalled labor." he sighed before looking over at Chris. "I am going to have to cut this tour short." he said with an apologetic tone in his voice. He went over to a nearby stand and pulled out a large piece of paper. "Here. This is a map of the rest of the hospital." he started after a moment. "It's color-coded and labeled so you don't get confused. There are 6 levels and the dark grey area which is the morgue, is off-limits. So, please never go down there alone." he added firmly, not wanting Chris to encounter the specter living down there. "Also, I made sure to write my personal number on the back just in case you have any questions." he finished as he handed the paper out to the other male.

EchoMonroe

Parking Garage- Grey
First Floor- Check In/Out/Cafeteria/Elevators-White
Second Floor- Pediatric Ward- Pink
Third Floor- Karma's Office/Staff Lounge/Other offices-Blue
Fourth Floor- ICU- Green
Fifth Floor-Morgue- Black(Off-limits to everyone except Dr. Karma)  

[EchoMonroe]

If you don't mean it, don't you say it
If you don't feel, don't you fake it
If it's a lie, baby, don't say it's true

┏━━━━━━━━━┓
₡ħяɨʂ
┗━━━━━━━━━┛

Chris nodded in understanding as Karma stated he had to go. He smiled back at him and gave a small shrug. He quickly looked over the map and took note of Karma's statement that he not go to the morgue alone. Well now I have to go to the morgue alone as some point. He wasn't sure why it was his first instinct, maybe it had something to do with the group of friends he hung around but now his interest had been piqued. He nodded to the doctor to show he understood.

If you don't want it? Why'd you take it?
How come you bought it just to break it?
If you don't love me, don't say you do.

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DragonMistress07

 

[DragonMistress07]

Karma gave him a look as a the knew what the other was thinking. "Seriously. Do not go down there." he said more firmly before sighing inwardly. "In any case, head to the staff lounge to meet with Dr. Yue. He's in charge if the schedule. He's easy to spot as he's the only with with white hair." he added after moment no silence. His pager beeped again, this time a lot more urgently. He told them that he was on his way now. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow at 9am sharp." he added with a smile at Chris before heading over to the maternity ward. He hoped that the other hadn't found him rude for leaving so soon but the doctor in charge of the maternity ward was out and he was Next in line if a problem came up. Goody. Whose idea had that been?

EchoMonroe

 

[EchoMonroe]

If you don't mean it, don't you say it
If you don't feel, don't you fake it
If it's a lie, baby, don't say it's true

┏━━━━━━━━━┓
₡ħяɨʂ
┗━━━━━━━━━┛

"Alright," Chris said with a small chuckle as Karma again told him not to go to the morgue. He watched Karma walk away before he found the staff lounge and had a blessedly short talk with Dr. Yue. The day was starting to take it's toll on him and he was ready to be home with his dog. He struggled with nightmares again though this time they were different, more real. He felt like he was being choked with his dog tags then by a pair of hands. He woke up gasping and sill feeling as if he was being choke but it passed. He showered and got ready for work and arrived a bit early. He caught his reflection as he was passing a window and grimaced. He looked rough and it was pretty obvious he hadn't slept well judging from the bags under his eyes. Something else caught his attention though as he noticed some strange bruises on his neck. Well that's not good. Maybe I did that in my sleep. He bushed it off and made his way to Karma's office.

If you don't want it? Why'd you take it?
How come you bought it just to break it?
If you don't love me, don't say you do.

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DragonMistress07

 

[DragonMistress07]

Karma went home that night exhausted. Apart from the stalled labor, he had to perform two emergency surgeries, send some lost souls to the after life and by the end if it, he was barely awake but somehow he managed to make I home. After a good night rest, he was fine by the time he got to his office. He made himself a hot cup of coffee before making his way to his office to get some paperwork done while he waited for Chris to show up. Chris. What to say about the man? Well, he intrigued him that was for sure. He shook his head as he got started on the paperwork, taking a sip of his coffee every now and then. He also made sure to turn the radio on to fill the quiet.

EchoMonroe

 

[EchoMonroe]

If you don't mean it, don't you say it
If you don't feel, don't you fake it
If it's a lie, baby, don't say it's true

┏━━━━━━━━━┓
₡ħяɨʂ
┗━━━━━━━━━┛

Chris knocked on Karma's office door before letting himself in. He greeted the doctor with a tired smile. "Morning," he rasped out. He was a bit shocked at how rough he sounded and blinked in confusion. He unconsciously ran his hand over his throat where it was bruised. Man I must have hurt myself worse than I thought. He shook his head and directed his attention back to the doctor.

If you don't want it? Why'd you take it?
How come you bought it just to break it?
If you don't love me, don't say you do.

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DragonMistress07

 

[DragonMistress07]

Karma lifted his head when he heard the knock and Chris' greeting. "Morn--oh my goodness! What happened to you?" he asked in alarm when he saw how tired the other looked. He instantly got up from his desk and walked over to the other male, reaching out a hand to gently touched the marks around Chris' neck. "A-Are these handprints?!" he whispered after a second of staring at he neck in horror. There was something off about the prints. He didn't think that the other would do this to himself and he was worried that Chris was dealing with something supernatural that he did not know about. He waited for a response as he thought of a way to conceal the bruises as it would not look good and people would start to ask questions.

EchoMonroe

 

[EchoMonroe]

If you don't mean it, don't you say it
If you don't feel, don't you fake it
If it's a lie, baby, don't say it's true

┏━━━━━━━━━┓
₡ħяɨʂ
┗━━━━━━━━━┛

Chris jumped a bit at Karma's alarm and did his best not to jerk away out of instinct when the other came over to look at him. Do I look that bad? He put his hand on Karma's arm and smiled a bit. "I had a nightmare and didn't get a lot of sleep," he explained ",it felt like someone was choking me but I probably did this to myself. I'm not sure how but it wouldn't be the first time I've hurt myself during an episode." He was hoping to ease whatever fears Karma may have had but he had a hunch it wasn't going to work.

If you don't want it? Why'd you take it?
How come you bought it just to break it?
If you don't love me, don't say you do.

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DragonMistress07

 

[DragonMistress07]

Karma gave him a look that clearly said that he did not believe them
"I highly doubt that." he muttered but let it go for now. "Come on. Let's see if I can do something to conceal those prints." he replied, gesturing for the other male to come into the office. "It should help your voice and the bruises." he added as he opened his desk drawer and started to rummage around for the anti-scarring cream that he had gotten from a shaman in Africa after he had saved his tribe from a rather vengeful spirit. That had not been a fun week for him. He still had the nightmares from battling it. If he was being honest with himself, he did not think those marks came from Chris himself. Was it possible that the other had brought something back with him from the war. Something sinister.

EchoMonroe

 

[EchoMonroe]

If you don't mean it, don't you say it
If you don't feel, don't you fake it
If it's a lie, baby, don't say it's true

┏━━━━━━━━━┓
₡ħяɨʂ
┗━━━━━━━━━┛

Chris finished making his way into the office and slumped down into one of the chairs in front of Karma's desk. "I wake up with stuff like this all the time," he explained ",I've even had to get stitches a few times cause I woke up with big scratches on my ribs. I've just always chalked it up to the PTSD." He shrugged a bit as he watched Karma search for something.

If you don't want it? Why'd you take it?
How come you bought it just to break it?
If you don't love me, don't say you do.

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DragonMistress07

 

[DragonMistress07]

Karma said nothing but just listened. ' PTSD my foot!' he thought as he gave a little sound of triumph when he found what he was looking for. It was a small, brown circular container with tribal designs decorating it. After closing his drawer, he popped open the top to reveal a light green paste that smelled of mint. "This should help with the bruising as well as ease your local cords." he said as he walked around the desk to approach Chris. "May I? Or would you rather do it yourself?" he asked after a moment, trying not to get to close to the other just in case he made said male nervous. He did not want that. And somehow he had to figure out was going on as he had a hunch that there was a lot more going on than a case of PTSD. He was sure of it.

EchoMonroe

 

[EchoMonroe]

If you don't mean it, don't you say it
If you don't feel, don't you fake it
If it's a lie, baby, don't say it's true

┏━━━━━━━━━┓
₡ħяɨʂ
┗━━━━━━━━━┛

"Go right a head," Chris said as he tilted his head back a bit to give Karma better access to his neck. He appreciated someone besides himself looking out for him. He tended to be the one to go out of his way to take care of others and as such his needs got pushed to the side more often than not. He felt strangely at ease around Karma, like he knew the other would be there if he truly needed him.

If you don't want it? Why'd you take it?
How come you bought it just to break it?
If you don't love me, don't say you do.

show spoilerhide spoiler

DragonMistress07

 

[DragonMistress07]

Karma nodded to himself before getting closer to the other male. He used a couple of fingers to scoop up some of the ointment and began gently rubbing in onto Chris' neck. "This way feel weird at first, a burning sensation and then numbness so be prepared." he said as he made sure to get all the bruises, especially the prints. "There. That should do it.The bruises should clear up within a day or so, thought you may have to hide them so no one asks any uncomfortable questions." he added before moving back after a few more minutes, checking his work and finding it good for now. "If you want, I can give you the cream, just in case. I have a second container so I would not miss this one." he finished. He had a feeling that he was going to need to keep a close eye on the other male.

EchoMonroe