#this has not been edited at all so idk if the typos are horrendous but

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Ask Idea! (Any version of these two Links!)

Time being a “Dad” for Legend.

(@thepinklink @hermitdrabbles56 @triforce-of-mischief @servantprincess come enjoy)

The emergency department was fairly abandoned as Time entered. The surgeon made his way directly to the charge nurse station and saw Warriors coordinating some bed assignments to get patients to the floors where they needed to go upon admission. When the charge nurse finally finished his task, he let out a sigh of relief upon noticing Time.

"Your patient's in the 300 block," Warriors said. "Census is finally low enough that I have an actual excuse to kick him out. Please help."

"How many?" Time asked, more out of morbid curiosity than anything.

"This is night eleven."

The surgeon's eyes widened. Eleven? He remembered his residency days when he would work well over a hundred hours in a week and was on the brink of insanity while being expected to work. Eleven shifts... that made for, what, 132 hours?

"Eleven consecutive shifts?" he repeated.

"Yeah," Warriors confirmed tiredly. "It isn't safe, Time. For anyone. I'm not letting management get away with it. Get him out of here."

With that, the conversation was cut off as the phone rang and Warriors had to start dealing with another situation. Time watched him a moment longer and then sighed, heading for the area sectioned off for the 300 rooms.

The emergency department was divided into several "blocks" of rooms, usually separated by acuity. The 100s were the "primary care" rooms, where patients who really didn't have an emergency but had nowhere else to go would be sorted. The 200s were the behavioral health area, secluded from the rest of the ER with doors that were always closed to mute the noise of the rest of the department. The 300s and 400s were the acutely ill while the 500s were the critically ill, and the 600s was the pediatric block.

The 300s wasn't far from the charge nurse station, so it didn't take Time long to reach the open area. The nurse station for each block sat in the center of the room so they could easily see all their patients, alongside the "doc box," where the physicians worked. Off to the left side of the nurse's station was the person in question.

Legend sat in front of a computer, a patient's chart open with an assessment half charted. Legend had his head propped on his right fist, his left hand absentmindedly typing words until the computer autocompleted them and he'd tab to the next box.

"Legend?" Time prompted as he approached him.

The travel nurse perked up slightly, some energy lighting his dull eyes. "Hey. Can I help you? They... they didn't put in a trauma consult for the guy in 12, it's a simple fracture. Right?"

"Nobody put in for a trauma consult," Time assured him, resting his hands on the counter in front of him. Legend looked very small and, for lack of a better word, defeated.

They stared at each other for a moment longer, Legend clearly not processing what was going on, and the nurse eventually settled his eyes back on charting with a noncommittal hum of acknowledgement.

"Legend."

The nurse's eyes gazed back up at the surgeon.

"Warriors changed assignments," Time explained. "Someone is picking up your patients."

"I only have one," Legend remarked confusedly. "Wait, what? Shouldn't I be picking up someone's assignment? Why are you even talking about--what?"

"He told me you had one patient, who is waiting for some paperwork from the physician and then is getting discharged," Time said slowly, gently tapping his fingers on the counter as he waited for Legend to process his words. "Which means you really don't have much of a patient assignment right now."

"Yes...?"

"You're going home, Legend."

Legend blinked. Then he blinked again.

Before he could argue, another nurse slid in beside him, stating exactly what Time had just articulated. Legend stared between the two, baffled.

"Then what am I...?"

"You're. Going. Home." Time repeated, stressing each word.

The travel nurse's coworker cleared her throat with a smile, and Legend hastily gave her report before staring at Time once more.

Then it finally seemed to click.

"What kind of bullsh--"

"Legend."

"Why the hell did that idiot think he could send me home--"

"Legend."

"What, does he think things are going to stay calm just because census has settled? I swear, the instant I leave the hospital the waiting room's gonna flood--"

"Legend!" Time finally said a little louder, making the travel nurse jump at his snappish tone. Then the surgeon settled. "Don't worry about what's happening here. That's Warriors' job. You've been working far too much lately."

"They're short staffed," Legend argued, motioning at the barren nurse's station. "What the hell was I going to do, just let them flounder?"

Time sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. "Your sentiment is admirable and good, Legend, but wearing yourself to the bone isn't going to help, either. You'll burn out and fall apart, and they'll be short staffed all the same."

"You're saying I'm replaceable," Legend grumbled, looking at the ground.

"I'm saying you can't help them if you have nothing left to give," Time corrected him patiently, understanding that the nurse's exhaustion was no doubt going to lead to irritability and false assumptions.

"I have plenty to give," Legend fired back, taking a step away and stumbling. "I'll--"

Here he faltered, scrambling for an argument and unable to find one. Time crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, making the travel nurse wave at him dismissively with an irritated tch.

"Where are you going?" Time asked as Legend walked away.

"To see if I'm needed elsewhere," was the terse reply.

"Legend," Time warned. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

The travel nurse froze, throwing a seething glare in his direction. "What, you think you can boss me around like you do Twilight or Wild? I'm not your kid, and I'm not part of your little war veteran posse either. What difference do I make, shouldn't you be in surgery or something? Pretty sure you have a job you're supposed to be doing."

Time took a steadying breath and walked towards Legend. His silence intimidated the travel nurse far more than his words did, and Legend took a wary step away. "What are you--"

With a swift motion, Time reached forward and slung the travel nurse over his shoulder, Legend squealing in alarm. A curious family member peeked out of one of the rooms, but beyond that Legend's hemming and hawing did little to change the situation.

Time had to admit, he was impressed at the combination of curse words the travel nurse was coming up with, though.

By the time they reached the alcove just outside the staff room for the ED, Legend had settled a little, only occasionally cussing Time out, jumping to different languages when he felt particularly irate.

"You need to clock out."

"Fuck you."

"All right, you can deal with it later."

They reached the entrance to the waiting room, and Time finally paused. "Am I going to have to carry you out of here, or will you walk with me?"

Legend's death grip on Time's shirt eased a little, followed by a defeated sigh. "Fine, dammit, I'll walk with you. Just put me down."

With that settled, Time slowly eased Legend to the ground, watching the nurse stumble a little with a dizzy spell. He steadied him by his shoulders, and Legend hissed, pushing him away.

Time furrowed his brow. "What compels you to think you can singlehandedly save everything and everyone, Legend?"

Legend's glare lost its bite, and he looked away. "It's my job, damn it. I'm a travel nurse, we come in to help departments who don't have enough nurses. This is what people rely on me for."

"Well, I don't know what your other assignments did to abuse you so much that you think eleven shifts is acceptable," Time stated, his words softened by his gentle tone. "But you have support here. We're not letting you burn yourself out like this."

"I'm not burnt out!"

Time stared at him until Legend withered under his gaze. He didn't have to rub salt in the wound. Instead, he just said, "Let's go."

Legend followed him somberly to the exit. The longer they walked, though, the more confused the young man became.

"Wait, my car's in a different deck. Where are we going?"

"I'm driving you home."

"What?" Legend stopped in the middle of the parking deck. "Come on, old man, I can handle driving myself home. Do you trust me that little?"

"You do realize that the level of exhaustion you're at probably makes you as addled as if you were drunk?" Time threw back. "You're coming home with me, Ledge. Someone has to take care of you since you don't seem to know how to take care of yourself."

Surprisingly, this didn't merit another string of curses or a fit. Instead, Legend deflated, suddenly out of energy to argue. Time left him be, willing to give the boy some space since he'd been manhandling him so much already. Instead, he unlocked his car and walked towards it, opening the passenger door. Legend dragged his feet over, sliding in silently and buckling up.

The travel nurse was out like a light before they even left the parking deck.

#I was told at work that I looked 'defeated' and I was like 'oh wow ok didn't realize it was showing that badly lol' #don't fret I haven't worked 11 consecutive shifts #I would actually die #Legend's insane and has more stamina than me #also dumber #lu in healthcare #you ask skye answers #lovely mad navi #lu legend #lu time #lu warriors #writing #writing prompt #this has not been edited at all so idk if the typos are horrendous but #it's 4:30 I'm going to bed #apparently I can only write when I'm about to pass out :D