Chapter Text
There was absolutely, in no way possible, ever, at all, that Seán could be late. He was never late! Except, that was exactly what he was as the watch under his grey hoodie read 6:00 A.M. in bold, red L.E.D. lighting. It felt like the watch was mocking him. His mango colored fur ruffled slightly as he puffed in frustration, pushing open the glass hospital doors and slowing down to a more societally acceptable pace in a building. His nose, (could he even call it a nose?) twitched under the smiley-face mask he had donned before even leaving his apartment room, the medicinal smell of the hospital assaulting his sensitive sense of smell. The eyeholes of the mask were at least acceptable, the black mesh acting as both sunglasses and a one way view, and there were no mask edges in the way of his vision as he walked up to the check-in desk. There didn't seem to be anyone at the desk for the moment, but there was a half drunk mug of coffee sitting next to a stack of registration papers. He assumed that meant there was at least someone on staff and ventured over to one of the waiting room chairs, intent on sitting down and not listening in on the suddenly VERY interesting drama in a conversation that had to be in the coffee shop across the street.
The conversation had just begun to take a very interesting turn, (Apparently someone named Choi had been trying to get into the wrong car, which they thought was their own, and very nearly was arrested from the mix up), when the sound of shoes tapping on tile snapped Seán out of his eavesdropping. Bunny ears straightening to perfect vertical lines, head turning to see who was approaching, he blinked at the purple sheep who was beckoning him over to the check-in desk. Standing up, he hurried over to the window where the sheep looked at him through large, circular glasses with a particularly tired expression.
"Do you have your registration all filled out?" The sheep asked, staring skeptically at him. Or his mask, he wasn't entirely sure which one it was. He shook his paws, rolling back his hoodie sleeves so he could sign easier.
"No, I am not a patient. I am here for my job. I was hired by a Doctor Harlow to work here." He signed slowly, hoping that the sheep could either understand sign language or at least get the idea that he was mute. The blank stare he was receiving wasn't raising his hopes any. His ears drooped slightly as he figured the sheep didn't know sign language, backing away from the window a little bit. Fishing around in his hoodie pockets, he found his miniature notebook and pen, scribbling down what he had signed earlier and holding it out to the sheep. After an awkward moment, a hoof took the small bit of paper hesitantly, the brown eyes reading it a few times from behind the glasses. The mango bunny let his foot tap a few times on the floor rapidly, attempting to release some of the stress that was building up. A sigh made him look back up at the sheep, tilting his head slightly in curiosity when the sheep made a beckoning motion.
He made it to the edge of check-in window ledge before something attached to the skin of his right arm through his hoodie. A second later his whole body locked up, nerves screaming in shock as electricity pulsed through his nervous system. A scream tore through his throat, already damaged vocal chords burning at the sudden use. The floor suddenly rose to greet his stiff body, twitching once as he made contact with the tile. The pale lemon colored mask shifted slightly from the harsh contact, the clear elastic sliding on his fur away from the left side of his face. He didn't have control over his body, limbs still rigid from the nervous system shock, so when claws gripped the edge of his mask, mental panic set in.
"Tori, please remove your paw from the new hire's mask." A new voice sternly ordered, hoofbeats approaching from the entrance doors of the hospital. The claws removed their grip from his mask, though it did take a moment. The nervous system paralysis was receding from his body, so he slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position, paws and arms shaking from the system shock. It took Seán a moment to locate the owner of the new voice, but after spotting a black cat in a security uniform, he saw a muntjac deer in a doctor uniform and a blue surgical mask over their mouth standing next to them with their arms crossed. It was Dr. Harlow, looking at the black cat with a very stern expression.
"I will assume the reason the new hire is on the floor is because of your actions. While I do appreciate your immediate action to what you thought was an anomaly, I must ask you to refrain from using a taser on him again. He wears that mask because he does not want to frighten other animals, the same as I do with my surgical mask. In no way will anyone be allowed to request him to remove it or attempt to remove it themselves," Dr. Harlow instructed, giving both the cat and the sheep a hard stare. He turned to Seán, tilting his head slightly. "Now, Seán here is going to be working as an Intern. Seán, I have assigned you to work the day shifts for the first two weeks. You'll be working with the other current day shift employees, Peter, Tori, and Emma. As an Intern, you'll be shadowing Nurse Emma and assisting her in what she needs. Coffee breaks are on the schedule behind Peter, by the security cameras."
Dr. Harlow gestured to the purple sheep, apparently named Peter, who grabbed a nametag and black sharpie and handed both items over to the doctor. Dr. Harlow then handed the items to Seán, who took them in momentary confusion.
"Write your first name, then your classification. Once you've secured the nametag, I will send Nurse Emma to retrieve you for your first shift." He explained, walking down the hallway and towards a hallway labeled "Rooms 1-5".
"Uh, sir?" Peter called out. "Emma hasn't arrived yet. It's only 5:58 A.M. She always gets here at 6:00 on the dot." At those words, Seán stared down at his watch, which was saying 6:02 A.M. His ears flattened against the back of his head in annoyance as he quickly fixed the time for himself. All that stress of being late when he was actually early; what a way to start his morning.