Chapter Text
For the last few hours, the hospital had been quiet.
No rude patients, no emergencies, and thank god no anomalies. They normally weren't able to get into the psych department, but even still, Lewis worried for his coworkers. Heaven knows Nurse Ellen needs a mental health day.
Unfortunately, just when it seemed like the hospital would get some peace, a crash. A very loud, very concerning crash.
How the situation developed from there was mostly a blur.
Identifying the room the commotion came from, breaking into a sprint, slamming open the door, and then-
BANG
Only heaving breaths and choked noises fill the room.
Lewis stares down at the mess with wide, terrified eyes. The anomaly is still alive- barely, sure, but alive nonetheless. The way she squirms against the gore covered tiled floors, choking and wheezing spoke of nothing but pain.
The sight drags his attention to the gun in his hand. Ah, right, Lewis did that. Lewis was the one who-
He's brought back to reality by a strangled cry. Intern. His gaze finally settles on the reason he had rushed over so quickly. The poor kid was barely keeping it together, forcing down sobs with their head in their hands.
The gun is easily discarded on a nearby counter, and it feels as though a weight is lifted off his chest. Slowly, Lewis makes his way over, avoiding the… the patient he had mistakenly tried to help.
“Kid?..” Lewis calls softly, knowing the approach could startle them. At times like this, Lewis really wishes he knew the intern's name.
Dark eyes peek out from behind bloody paws, glossy and wider than usual. Lewis attempts a smile. Hopefully it isn't too unconvincing. In return, intern cries harder. So much for that.
“Can I come closer?” He asks. The way the kid was balled up wasn't like anything Lewis has seen from the intern before. From what Elise had told him, intern dealt with anomaly attacks frequently, and usually bounced back like nothing. Initially, that information had alarmed him… but at some point, he had reasoned it was better for Intern considering their line of work.
Now, he was back to being alarmed.
A few seconds go by, five, ten, Lewis isn't sure, but eventually Intern nods. He closes the distance between them and crouches to their level. “We need to leave, okay?” He carefully places a paw on intern's shoulder, relieved when the rabbit leans into it rather than away.
The rabbit nods again, though their paws never leave their mouth as they muffle their cries. Lewis smiles, rising to his feet and offering Intern help getting up. After a long moment, Intern accepts and they exit the room quickly. Lewis pretends he doesn't hear the lack of noise from the room behind them.
Intern sits down in the common area on an uncomfortable couch. Their crying has died down to the occasion choked sob and minor trembling, which wasn't much, but he would take every victory he could, no matter how minor.
“Hey.” A voice from behind him, sudden and entirely unexpected.
Lewis spins around, wide eyes landing on a black cat wearing an expression of thinly veiled amusement. He sighs, brows pinching. How Ezra was able to approach so quietly was beyond him.
“I heard a gunshot.” They explain without giving Lewis a chance to respond. The rabbit winced- ah, everyone probably heard that.
“Ah, yes, there was…” His eyes dart between Intern and the room the two had just exited from, “An incident.”
“And you used a gun?” Ezra raises a brow, curiosity reflective in their gaze. Lewis frowns.
In accordance with the law, every department was given proper weaponry to deal with major anomaly attacks. Psych was no different- except, they normally didn't deal with anomalies. Every patient in their department has come to them through the main hospital. If there was any chance of a patient being an anomaly, they were always caught before Lewis, or any other Psychologist, could see them.
Even so, he knew he was supposed to use the taser for a small incident like this. Not a gun.
“I panicked.” He admits, somewhat shamefully. At Ezra's continued staring, he tries to find more words, but can't.
After a painfully long moment, the cat hums, “Is Intern alright?” They ask, voice softening to a nearly unnoticeable degree. Almost on sync, the two turn to look at the distressed yellow bunny from across the room. Their crying had yet to cease.
“...I'll bring over a medkit and some coffee.” Ezra sighs, glancing over their shoulder at the slightly open door. Blood oozed from the crack, causing Lewis to shiver. “And someone to clean that up.”
Lewis nods gratefully, “Thank you. I hope you weren't too busy.” Frankly, Lewis isn't sure what Ezra does in the main hospital, but they always seem to have some spare time.
The cat gives a small nod in return before fully turning to the door, peaking inside curiously. “Was it your first time using a gun?”
Lewis frowns, “Second time. Don't look at it like that, it's creepy.” He notes the eager smile on the cat's face.
Ezra grins wider, still inspecting the scene. “Like what? I'm just looking.”
“Like-” He stops himself. This was a losing battle. “Okay, fine. Just stop looking in general.”
Ezra shrugs, finally stepping back to close the door. “If you say so.” They turn their back, leaving to go fulfill their little side quest.
“Thank you again, Ezra.” Lewis waves, despite the cat being unable to see.
“No problem… and nice job not accidentally shooting the intern back there.” They congratulate before turning the corner.
Lewis freezes. Ah, yes, that could have happened. He turns to look at Intern again, chest heavier. That could have happened.
Rain hits his windshield in a quiet rhythm, soothing him more than his broken radio ever could. (Does he have the money to fix it? Yes. Does he care that much? Absolutely not.)
Thinking about the day is making his gut twist uncomfortably. Every time he's brought back to that moment, watching Intern cower in corner- it just makes him feel worse.
Intern, in the first place, was not meant to be in his part of the hospital. Intern is a medical student. (From what school? No one had an answer.) They belong with patients seeking medical assistance.
Unfortunately, they have a strong, almost concerning need to help wherever they possibly can. That means whenever they have a spare moment, they come down to psych and help with whatever menial tasks Lewis will assign them.
It was sweet. Lewis likes the Intern. They're helpful, cheerful, and nearly all of his patients have taken a liking to them. Especially the older animals. They see a young rabbit and go crazy.
So seeing them like this, today, it was… disconcerting. Lewis is used to dealing with all sorts of breakdowns, but from what he can tell, this came completely out of nowhere.
After spending some time comforting them, he's crafted a theory of sorts. Perhaps, Intern has always been shaken by the anomaly attacks, but had been repressing that fear as a coping mechanism. The only reason they had broken today could be because they considered the psych department a safe zone, and was caught off guard.
Lewis hums. That would make sense. It was by no means perfect, but it was an explanation.
If this was the case, it won't be any good to have them continue working like this. They need some form of help. Lewis always advocates for his coworkers to undergo standard mental evaluations, but he normally lets go pretty easily. This isn't something he's willing to let go. He needs to find a way to help intern.
…Huh? An anomaly survivor support group?