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Ziggy had gotten into a gnarly- inconvenient- ATV crash roughly a week prior to his arrival at Pillbox, it was finally time for a proper checkup, unfortunately his car had broken down two days prior- he knew that he could take a taxi, but knowing most of the service they'd run through a red light and get pulled over- or worse. So his only other option was to take his motorcycle.
Now not to confuse anyone, it was a beautiful bike, it was a charming low rider Harley, cherry red and sparkling in color- the only problem was he hadn't driven it in some time, and in all honesty he was a bit worried he might crash and hurt himself. Well...even more so then he already was...
But he had to get there somehow, so he shrugged a bit and winced as he sat on the seat, a rugged breath escaping him as his ribs ached. The bruising across his core still fresh and healing from slamming into a thick tree branch while he'd been doing some kick ass tricks up north- or alternatively what he'd told EMS was he'd been off road patrolling and had a minor accident.
Ziggy tried not to cough in pain as he kicked his bike into neutral and turned it around and rolled it onto the road, starting the engine. He was taken aback by the sudden roar and rumble of the vehicle as he turned it on- he had forgotten how loud it was, but boy did he grin when he heard it purr,
"Not bad bud- not bad..." complementing his past self for buying the bike, however long ago it had been.
Buggs revved the engine a few times before driving off down the road, taking an easy cruise as he rolled toward Pillbox.
~~~
Drake had been on duty for only ten- maybe fifteen minutes when an ambulance rolled up, hauling four 47 calls, he rolled his shoulders and popped his neck before he hopped over the fence between the front curb of the building and the ER doors,
"Starting off strong today I guess-" muttering to himself as he sighed and took in a gurney with one of the 47's, rolling them inside and checking them over before getting to work.
Maybe it was just the pain killers talking, but three out of the four patients he'd had that morning had already very bluntly started hitting on him, and by the end of it Noah was complimented- but he knew very well that they all likely wouldn't remember saying jack-squat when their morphine had worn off.
"Does that happen often Doc?" the patient spoke as they laid back in their bed,
Drake chuckled as his last patient commented on the other three patients, having overheard most of their ramblings.
"Not as often as you'd think, but when it does happen I always get a kick out of it. And the names Drake, Dr. Noah Fucking Drake."
The patient in bed blinked in slight disbelief before nodding, their expression almost immediately turning from confusion to acceptance
"Shame- you really are a great doctor, thanks for fixing me up Dr. Drake 'really appreciate it."
He nodded in response and shrugged "No problem, it is after all my job as a doctor-" he said before going on with his little bit about his 'healing hands' and sending all four of them off and out of the building, him heading straight back outside and standing beside a few of the EMS as it went quiet in the city once more.
~
Buggs wheezed as he pulled around the corner to Legion Square, he was almost there thank god- it was hard enough taking in a regular breath of air and even having going the speed limit of 35mph he was feeling a bit queasy from all the excitement.
"Maybe I really did hit that tree like a damn Storm Trooper- fuckin' hell" whispering to himself as he rolled underneath the Legion Gardens, listening to his motorcycle roar as he drove up to the light just before reaching Pillbox.
~
Drake was in the middle of chatting with Mercy Moon, his best friend and colleague, when they all looked over to the underpass, the echoing of someone's vehicle interrupting everyone's conversations.
"Who in the hell is making all that noise and why" Noah squinted, brows lightly furrowed in annoyance.
Ziggy drove through the light before going into the turning lane, he rolled up to the parking lot beside the hospital and drove over the curb seeing as all the parking spots we're taken- a pained grunt escaping from him as he bounced over the cement, parking it and putting the kickstand out with a grumble.
Drake rolled his eyes and sighed heavily,
'great- park ranger dope was here...' he thought to himself.
Mercy glanced at Buggs and looked him up and down, nudging Noah with her elbow a bit as if to get him to check out the handsome man,
"He's quite the looker isn't he?" she cooed, glancing between both Drake and Ziggy;
"Don't even get me started on this clown Merc-" they both started stepping over quietly, watching as Buggs groaned getting off his motorcycle.
"Oh shit-" Ziggy cleared his throat as best he could and straightened up as the two walked over to him,
"Heyyy- Drake- Uh- I'm here for a check up- don't mind me"
the Park Ranger chuckling lightly, trying not to show his pain.
Drake stuttered in his footing as he did a double take, looking at both Buggs and the motorcycle combined- he wouldn't say it aloud- but Mercy was right, Ziggy was definitely attractive and the motorcycle he'd brought with him wasn't helping his heart swell a little- his face flushing a bit pink.
Mercy walked over to Buggs in a friendly manor, leaving Noah to freeze on his lonesome,
"Hi, I'm Mercy Moon- a doctor here at Pillbox, are you here for a check up or an emergency?" she spoke politely, standing in wait for a response.
Ziggy gulped feeling his stomach churn, going over that curb was a bit more rough on him than he thought, he stumbled over his words for a moment,
"Oh uh hi- yes I'm here for a check up, I was just gonna walk in and have a local look me over- but considering you and Dr. Drake are here I guess my plans have changed a bit."
Mercy nodded "Okay well come on in, I'll show you to a room." she said with a bit of a bubbly tone.
Luckily Buggs in his current state hardly felt well enough to talk shit on Drake being temporarily frozen in place, had he felt a little better though he would've dove head first into shit talking- but he was a bit more focused on the churning of his innards as he followed Dr. Moon inside the ER of Pillbox.
-Drake by now had finished swooning over the Ranger and his ride, but was staying silent out of a slight lack of brain function, he began to follow the two as they walked inside.
~
Mercy guided Buggs back towards a room and asked him about his appointment, Drake was hardly paying attention, most of what he was doing in the moment was shamefully thinking of Ziggy's smile-
'Damnit why's it always gotta' be him.' he rolled his eyes, trying to contain his more obscure thoughts.
Mercy had by now brought Buggs into a room and had him sit on the patients table, mentioning something in passing as she closed the door behind her and walking over to Noah, a broad smile on her face.
Drake leaned against the wall across from the door to Buggs room, an arm folded under his other, his hand placed over his mouth as he thought- he had to get Mercy to take Buggs, he knew there was N o way he'd go in that room without a red face. So he had to convince Mercy to do it-
Moon waltzed over to her friend quietly, Noah glanced up at her and stood up straight- he was on the verge of speaking his mind when he noticed her face.
"What are you smirking at me for, what did you do-" his arms quickly folded together.
"Oh nothing~ I just so happen to have two different patients waiting for me-" she tilted her head coyly as if she hadn't done what she had just done,
"You didn't-"
"I did." she said with a slightly deeper and very unapologetic tone.
Noah felt his jaw slack and let it drop, him beginning to stumble over his words, making nothing but awkward sounds as his mouth opened and closed repeatedly.
Mercy snorted at Drake "Oh come on, I k n o w you were thinking of taking a sip of that wine Noah, don't deny fact-"
Drake felt his cheeks flush with heat, "Don't go there right now Merc, I am n o t checking him out." -his face going from a light pink to red pretty quickly.
"What kind of checking out do you mean Noah?" she smiled, brows raised and a giggle in her throat,
"Not that kind!" he whisper hollered at her, his patience growing thin.
"Oh you'll live Drake, its just one check up- its not like he'll-"
Drake covered her mouth with his palm, a stern look on his face- preventing her from saying that out loud.
"Okay, okay fine! I'll treat him- but you better damn believe you're gonna get the biggest pain in the ass patient who ever next rolls in."
Mercy shrugged and removed Noah's hand from her face-
"After this? Yeah I owe you big time- you're in for a world of hurt there Drake- a real ship sinker-"
Noah made a zipping motion over his lips at her before stepping inside Buggs room, Mercy cackling as he shut the door behind his back.
~
Buggs had laid back on the table with one of his arms above his head, the other covering his eyes, had he- had he fallen asleep...?
Drake cocked his head to the side,
"Ah e m- Ziggy?"
Buggs jolted a little and moved his arm from his face, peering around before sitting up with a wheeze,
"Oh- h- hey, sorry just got a bit too comfy there I guess"
a light laugh coming from him before wincing a little.
"Uh huh... So what's this check up for? 'You willingly leap off another cliff Park Ranger?" a smirk on his face.
Buggs sighed roughly at the doctors comment,
"I was patrolling up north when I got into an ATV accident, just got the wind knocked out of me pretty badly- I was told I should get checked out again in a week, so here I am."
Drake nodded "Alright, you have any bruising? I'm assuming you have nothing broken or fractured since you drove here on a motorcycle... Right?"
"I don't break that easily thank you very much," Ziggy scoffed- "but yeah, 'got some bruising on my chest and stomach-"
Buggs shed his already unbuttoned plaid shirt and lifted his undershirt, revealing some painful looking bruises across his lower rib-cage and just below his heart, he hissed as he raised his wrist higher than his elbows.
The bruising was near a rainbow of color from what Drake could gather, he was impressed Ziggy hadn't keeled over earlier as they walked in, much less drove to Pillbox by himself- and on a motorcycle for fuck's sake.
"Jesus Buggs, how in sweet hell did you get here in once piece?" He unwrapped his stethoscope from around his neck and placed it in his ears, holding up the opposite end to listen to Ziggy's innards, careful not to hurt his already assumed fragile figure.
"Like I said- I don't break easy-" he grunted as Drake pressed the broader end of his tool to his sternum, Noah pulling back slightly when he heard the body above him flinch
Drake sat down on his chair, his brows furrowed in curiosity as to what actually happened to the Park Ranger in front of him,
"You said this was an 'ATV accident'?"
Ziggy felt his face flush pink as Noah stared at his chest
"Y-yeah, I uh- I also took a bit of a tumble down a hillside after it happened..."
"Was this right after you- and I'm assuming here- went head over heels above your handle bars?"
Buggs chuckled a little, "Uh- yeah I guess, it was kinda hard to tell exactly what I hit at the time- I was a little more concerned about my lack of air"
Noah shrugged, sounded like he was almost telling the truth, but at this point talking was enough to likely make Ziggy feel a little dizzy, so he kept his thoughts to himself for the moment.
"Alright well-" Drake wheeled over to a mini "desk" that hung off the wall, he began typing and scrolling through the records from last week- skimming through Buggs injury document.
"From what I'm reading your injuries are suddenly seeming a whole lot better than I thought they were-"
Ziggy tilted his head in confusion before Noah spoke again
"I'm gonna recommend some light pain killers and hand you off some big ice packs, if you feel worse by tomorrow then I'd suggest calling somebody for a lift up here instead of risking your life any further driving on that motorcycle- other than that you're good to get the hell outta here Ranger-"
Buggs sighed with a little wheeze, pulling his shirt down gently while Drake stood up and shoved his gloved hands into his scrubs pockets.
"So no 'healing hands' this time?" he said with a huff through his nose, a small smile on his lips.
"Sorry green-ranger, I've ran clean dry of my gods healing touch for this morning- you'll have to check back in with Nancy to make a further appointment." he smirked, turning toward the rooms door,
Buggs chuckled at his sarcasm, why he'd laughed not even he was entirely sure, he would likely blame it on the slight lack of air to his brain, but even Drake was funny on occasion; he couldn't deny.
~~
Noah walked Ziggy back out to the ER doors with a bag full of newly prescribed light pain killers and a few fresh ice packs for his nasty injuries about 20 minutes later, giving him all the info and more that he needed in case he suddenly collapsed somewhere, the doctor stood at the doors for a moment thinking before he turned and went back inside Pillbox; leaving Buggs to head home.
It wasn't long after that Buggs had walked outside of the ER doors had he realized he'd left his keys in the ignition to his motorcycle, "Oh fuck me-"
he groaned as he stepped over to the curbside where he'd previously parked his bike, low and behold, it was long gone.
Ziggy put his head in his hands and moped for a moment,
Great- now he had to walk however many blocks back to the apartments, Drake had already drained him of all energy he may have had left in him- sure he liked to talk, but with the way he felt right now, he wasn't sure if he'd even open his mouth for the next three days.
Buggs sighed heavy and felt his stomach knot again, this time from a pained anger and defeatedness combined, he slowly started his way down the sidewalk while trying to ring up that his motorcycle had gotten stolen.
He'd get so much shit for that from his coworkers- but whatever.
"Hey, where the hell do you think you're going Ranger?"
Ziggy turned around on his heels, phone to his ear as he looked back up the sidewalk,
"You're not leaving without this beauty are you?"
Noah sat in the black leather seat of Buggs' motorcycle as he let the bike roll slowly down the slight slope before holding the breaks and stopping beside Ziggy, the engine purring as Noah held a wide grin on his face.
"'Cause if you are then I'll happily take her off your hands~"
Buggs had immediately noticed that Drake had changed out of his scrubs, he was wearing a red turtleneck shirt, grey jeans, a fancy- what he assumed to be- leather jacket and black combat boots,
When and why had he changed? Had he really gone off duty or something right after he'd been done with him?
Ziggy shook his head briefly, "Alright well, first off 'she' is a 'he'- second, how the hell did you get the keys to my motorcycle?" A clear expression of confusion plastered on his face.
"Well you see, when you walked in earlier, one of the EMS noticed you'd left your keys in the ignition and kindly told Dr. Moon, Mercy, so she had it parked in the staff parking lot downstairs; while you got your checkup-"
"How does that explain how you got my keys Drake-"
"Let me finish and I'll tell you Buggs- Mercy gave me the keys as I stepped out of the room to go fill out your meds and shit, she was going to have it driven around the front for you again once you got out but you we're apparently too quick for all of us." He leaned forward on the handle bars a little, still smiling up at the brunette.
Ziggy felt his face flush a little red, flustered at just how well Drake fit on his motorcycle "Alright well, you've had your fun, and I need to get home- and you probably need to get back to work-"
"I'm on my lunch break, I can be gone for a little over an hour maybe two if I really wanna stretch it."
Buggs rolled his eyes, "Okay, well-"
"-And I'm kindly volunteering to take you home, since you currently look like you're about to puke on my boots..."
Ziggy stood for a moment, realizing that he was shaking slightly,
-When had he started sweating...? Did it just suddenly get 10 degrees warmer?
"Uh- I- I mean- Umh-"
He stuttered trying to comprehend how he was currently feeling,
What in gods name was happening to him right now? He felt like he'd been thrown back into middle school with how embarrassed he was-
Drake raised a brow, looking Ziggy in the eye and glancing him up and down- unable to tell if the Ranger were actually ready to collapse or empty his lunch in the gutter
"You okay Buggs...?"
Ziggy nodded and swallowed, clearing his throat and speaking with a crack in his tone "Just shut up and take me home..."
Noah chuckled and scooted forward a little, making room for the cowboy as he sat down, shoving his bag of things inside a back side pack that hung off the seat of his motorbike.
Drake revved the engine a little before Buggs spoke up
"Do you even know how to drive this?"
Noah laughed loud and hearty, immediately making Buggs eat his own words, the engine revved again as they took off- Ziggy hollering a little as he grabbed around Drakes middle, holding on for dear life.
~~**~~***~~**~~