Chapter 4 - Treatment For The Boss

Sophia POV On my return to the 42nd Floor, I’m advised that most of the patients have been discharged. That leaves only the 3 Houroux patients. When I enter Andreas' room, whose room I decided to visit first, I see him sitting on the bed with his wife by his side. The woman, who was previously sitting in Perseus' room, is also here, with them, now. “Good afternoon Mr Lykaios. You appear to be feeling much better today?” I say with a small smile on my lips as I approach him. I grab a pair of gloves from the side table and start checking his vitals as well as the bandages. “Yes, I am definitely feeling much better, thank you. This hospital truly does live up to its reputation and the awards it has won.” I first look at where the wound in the center of his chest is. There’s no more bleeding and it appears to be well healed. “Well, we are the number one facility in the country. It should be obvious that our personnel would also uphold the facility's reputation through their expertise and dedication to patient care. We only employ personnel who are best equipped to handle all the types of injuries and illnesses that come through our doors.” I answer calmly as I complete the examination. "And here I was told that you are a very serious person." He chuckles. I smirk. Now isn't that just a little ironic? “Only to those who deserve it. Those who make comments, remarks and demands as though they are God themselves.” I answer and walk away, entering all my findings into the system. I take off my gloves and throw them in the toxic waste bin in the corner. “Er... I'm sorry. I didn't mean for what I said to come out that way." I hear his voice and turn to face him. “Normally, people like you don't want to sound arrogant or rude, but you're so used to doing it that you don't even realize when you do it. You also talk like you're superior to everyone else, but you're just another regular human being." It’s the first time I hear that voice, so I know it must be coming from the woman who was sitting with Perseus earlier, and I don't know exactly why, but her voice grates on my nerves. “Shut up Daphne! If you continue with this attitude, you will end up being exiled!” Andreas' voice is firm and determined. It rings with a certain power to it. It’s not as strong as Hyperion's voice, which exudes much greater authority, but Andreas' exudes enough power to be felt as well. “I enjoy being a mere human. Thank you.” I speak softly. These people really do think that they are better than everyone else. I leave the room before I say anything I might later regret. I hear their muffled voices in the room I left behind me. They must be having an argument now. I enter the second room and look at Achilles. He’s also sitting up and looking better. And for the first time since arriving in this room, the smell of oak moss mixed with the aroma of orange blossoms and sandalwood is wafting through the room. "I don't think Mr. Achilles is in good enough shape to be wearing cologne." I comment and smile from the corner of my mouth. I approach the bed and side table and put on a pair of gloves. I start jotting down the data from the monitors and when I check his vitals, I feel a small shock on my arm. “Hey!” I look at him a little startled. I hate it when that happens but give a low chuckle. I notice his gaze widen at the feeling of the shock. "Relax. It's just a little static electricity. It won't harm you." I notice that several bandages have already been removed and the ones that are left, are clean and dry. “Are you Sophia Turner?” he asks. His voice is low and husky and I feel a chill run down my spine when I hear it. It’s a voice that makes me feel like climbing into his lap and kissing him like there would be no tomorrow. His voice reminds me of the voice of a radio announcer. “Yep.” I answer with a single word. I don’t trust my voice to not betray how I’m feeling. At least I have enough control of my body to not get turned on. “How is Perseus?” He asks. There’s an undertone of confusion in the question. "I can’t release information about other patients." I respond as professionally as possible, making sure, at the same time, that I keep my physical contact with him as professional as possible as well. But I need to leave the room. And I need to do it soon. "I understand." He responds. I felt like he was going to grab me again, but I quickly pulled away. It’s best to avoid any further contact. I can't trust my reaction if I had to feel his touch on my skin again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." I let out the breath I didn't even know I was holding. "Hope to see you again soon." He says. I should say something, but there's no way I can do that without giving away what I’m thinking, so I just leave the room. I want to lean against the wall and have some time to compose myself, but I need to finish my rounds. “Sophia! Are you okay?!" I hear Alex whisper-shout at me. "I haven't seen you eat anything since donating blood, have you? You were told to eat and rest a little before returning to work.” I turn my head to see him approaching me with a small pack of biscuits and a juice in hand. “Come here and sit down for a while. You look a little pale and unwell.” I walk towards him, but I swear I heard a low grunt coming from Achilles' room, as I leave. “Thanks Alex,” I thank him with a smile, accepting the biscuits and the juice he brought me. I decided to ignore what I thought I just heard. We choose two chairs close to the reception desk and sit down. I open the biscuits and take a sip of the guava juice. After consuming some of the biscuits and juice. I immediately start feeling a little better and as though I have more energy. “Gosh. I definitely needed this.” I close my eyes and eat another biscuit. Alex chuckles at me and says "I bet you often forget to eat when you’re at work.” I look at him as he crosses his arms and looks at me in amusement. "No. I don't usually forget." I tell him, taking a chocolate-flavored cereal bar from my lab coat pocket. "I can't go very long without eating. I only forgot because I was exhausted." “If you had the opportunity to stop working, would you?” He asks me out of the blue. I cock my head to the side, trying to understand what he was trying to get at by asking me such a question. "Why would you ask me that?" I ask him, feeling slightly off kilter. "No reason. It's just that I can't really imagine you ever doing anything else but work." “Hum… I like being a nurse, but I do intend to retire, buy a cottage by the sea and just enjoy my days on the beach, drinking lots of coconut water.” A smile lifts the corner of my lips imagining what it would be like if, at some point, all my problems were resolved. That could happen, but it most certainly won’t be any time soon and much less simply. “I thought you would have wanted something more complex. This seems pretty simple.” “Well, what might be simple for some is very complicated for others.” I finish my snacks and close my eyes for a few moments just to compose my thoughts. I open my eyes, returning to the present, and draw in a deep breath. I take my cell phone from my pocket and quickly check my notifications and the time. I frown as I check my messages and notice that I have to do an extra shift for the hemodialysis. I have a gaming appointment for 10pm tonight, so I sent a message to the gaming group to tell them that I might not be able to join them. Me [Hey guys, looks like I'm taking an extra shift tonight. I don't know if I'll be able to join you.] Angel [Seriously???? Today is the end of the campaign!!!] Me [Yeah. I know. But I have to take care of the hemodialysis machine.] Vic [Pah! Check with Mi. Since it takes about 5 hours for the whole process to complete, can't you play while you keep an eye on it?] Me [I can ask, but it's for the Houroux Family. I don't know…] Claire [All playboys. The whole lot of them… They have a bizarre hierarchy… I heard that they have Alphas, Betas, Gammas and all those kinds of things…] Me [Hahahahah! Hey! Houroux = Wolf Army, so they are just taking the family name literally.] Claire [LOL! That makes sense! Phew, even more relieved now.] Claire [But scary, they definitely are…] Me [Normally, they just think that they're better than everybody else.] Vic [Yeah. I heard there was a fight between you and the head of the family… Is it true that you told him to get down on his knees?!] Me [It's not a lie.] Claire [Man! I wish I had at least 10% of your courage.] Me [Well, 10 years of therapy helps a lot!!! And about 4 additional medications that I am on didn’t do any harm either..] Vic [Hahahahaha!] Claire [KKKKKK] Mi [I'll check with the head of the family and see if you can play while you keep an eye on the patient.] Mi [But I can't guarantee anything.] Me [EEEEEE!! You know I love you right?] Me [I have to get back to work now. Love you all.] I turn off my cell phone's screen and stand up stretching and cracking my neck and back as I do so. I do a few quick stretches and flex my joints. I then jump up and down a few times just for extra measure. "Okay. I think I'm awake now." I say to no one in particular and softly laugh at myself for my silliness. I pick up the tablet and check the notifications on other patients as I head for Perseus' room. As I open the door and enter the room, I’m, once again,overwhelmed by that woodsy scent. It’s still the same as before. It still smells like pines and apples mixed with something similar to aged leather added to it. The only difference this time around, is that it is a lot stronger. And today, Perseus is the only person in the room. Did the scent emanate from Perseus? I write down the information from the monitors and check Perseus' vitals and bandages. All still looks good and nothing appears to have changed. At least his condition is stable and not deteriorating. There’s nothing else for me to do here, for now, but I find that the woodsy scent is quite intoxicating. I can’t deny that I’m affected by it. It’s obvious that a man like Perseus would have a unique scent that is like his very own personal perfume. I let out a low chuckle and left the room. If I didn't know myself better, I'd say that I’m becoming attracted to him. "And?" I hear Alexander's question and just smirk. “I can’t release patient information.” I don’t mind if they find out through other sources, but I keep to my professional, family-only medical information privacy policy. “That's the fourth time, I think, I hear you say that. Is there no way to get information out of you?” I can’t help but chuckle. “No. If they say in the medical records that I can disclose information to people other than the family, then that's fine. Other than that, no, no, no way.” I run my fingers along my mouth and twist the end, as if it’s a zipper and key and I smirk listening to Alexander chuckle. For a big muscular guy, he really is cool. “So where are we going?” “I have patients on the 25th and 15th floors, and I also need to check in with the emergency staff.” As we walk down the hall and pass the other guards, I get the impression that they are jealous of the friendship that Alexander and I had developed and the way we get along with each other. It feels strange that they might be jealous. We stop in front of the elevator, which doesn’t take very long to arrive. “Um… Sorry to ask you this, but I’m curious. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. But ... you and Joshua?” “We’ve been dating for 4 months. There isn't really anything more to tell.” I told him. I honestly don’t have more to tell because I’m not sure if our relationship will develop into anything more than a casual fling, which is what it currently appears to be, or whether I would consider having a more permanent kind of relationship with him. "Got it. He seems like a nice guy though." Alex comments. I look at Alex and smirk. "Why? Do you already want to ask me out?” I see his face turn slightly red in embarrassment just before he looks away from me to hide his blush. “No… No… Not at all!! I’m just curious!” His voice is a little higher pitched than usual as he tries to defend himself. “I wouldn't dare. Definitely not!” The last sentence is uttered in a more solemn tone, leaving me to wonder why he asked in the first place. “I see.” I say as the elevator door opens and I head towards my first patient on the 25th floor. “But ... if you ever did ask me out … theoretically speaking … I would definitely think about it. You don't seem to fit the same mold that your colleagues are made from. You are also nothing like the people you work for.” I hear him choking and look back to find him taking several steps backwards. I throw my head back and laugh at his reaction. My loud laughter draws the attention of a number of people in the hall. “Relax Alex. I only said that I would think about it, if you did.” I comment once my laughter dies down. I continue towards my first patient's room and come to a halt at the door. After the dating discussion, Alex became extremely quiet and serious. It came to a point that, when I try to chat with him, he only responds in monosyllables. I eventually stop trying to make conversation with him. If he can’t handle innocent jokes and bantering, or whatever he thought it was, then, whatever. Why should I care? Maybe it has something to do with his job. Maybe he’s not permitted to get involved with someone who might keep him from his duties. Whatever his reasons, I don’t force the matter anymore. I complete my rounds on Floors 25 and 15 without incident, and my visit to the emergency room is also brief with no drama. It also, unfortunately, progresses with no conversation from my new friend and bodyguard. A notification comes through on the tablet and I open it to see what it says. It’s an update on Perseus' records. The message reads that the bloods have been collected and separated in preparation for use. The blood is ready for hemodialysis.