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antony-malinowski · 2 years

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The Myth of the Hot Nurse: Flashback

Setting: Thanksgiving 2018 With: Sebastián and Leo Castillo de Leon @castillodeleon Triggers: Injury Notes: Antony does not remember this at all, Seb remembers Antony as “the Hot Nurse”

In truth, as worried sick, as he was, the last thing Sebastián wanted was to be stuck in an ER for hours during a bad flu season but Leo's arm didn't look good and even though his father had told him to wait it out, Seb knew better. He didn't even know how fast he was driving until he realized it only took them 17 minutes to arrive. Looking over at Leo sitting next to him, Sebastián frowned. "Hey, buddy. You're being such a trooper. But look at the bright side, we got out of Thanksgiving craziness." It was enough to make Leo giggle and high-five his dad with his good hand. Seb knew his son would have an overall good spirit about this especially if it meant he'd get a cast for his first-grade class to sign. As soon as they entered the ER entrance, they were handed surgical masks and Seb Purel'd his hands and his son's. "Hi, my so fell off a tree swing and we think he may have fractured his arm."

After signing a few forms and getting a registration bracelet slapped on both their wrists, they were escorted to Peds triage and it was a madhouse. "If we're lucky we'll be out by Christmas." He grinned under his mask and ruffled his son's hair. Once Leo was triaged, they were escorted toward the hallway and onto a bed. Yes, in the hallway. "Jesus, you guys are busy." Letting Leo, settle, Seb stood beside his son with nowhere for him to really sit and waited.

Antony truly wasn't sure how much coffee that he had as he chugged another cup down, throwing it away in the nearest trash can. Even though he had volunteered to work these shifts (and therefore got out of having to drive down to San Diego for the holiday) it seemed busier than he had expected. Something was truly in the air this year, and he had a feeling that tomorrow he was going to sleep for at least 14 hours to make up for it.

And the next patient was in the hallway. Clearly the hospital was as frazzled as he was.

"Yeah, it's been a day, I think someone said this morning that it was going to be an easy Thanksgiving and cursed us all," Antony dryly chuckled, barely even looking at the parent as he gave the boy a smile. "So you must be Leo," he said, "Do you want to tell me what's going on buddy?"

Sebastián smiled when the nurse approached. He had a great appreciation for them since Mari was one studying to be one. He adjusted his mask, pinching the bridge of his nose and did the same to Leo. Couldn't be too safe.

Leo smiled at the nurse and waved with his good hand. "I fell off my tree house and landed on my arm." Leo sighed. "Dad thinks I might have fractured it."

"Me. I'm dad." Seb smiled again behind his mask, looking up at the nurse, quickly and briefly spotting the rainbow pin he had been sporting. "There's some instant swelling and pain at the sight. He won't move it so...I have a feeling..."

"Hi, Dad, I'm Antony," he smiled at the man, who clearly was more worried than his won was. Which was slightly more usual than people probably would think. "And I promise that we're going to take great care of him even if we're busy," he assured the man with a smile that hid exactly how exhausted he was.

"Have you given him any pain meds at all?" Antony asked Seb as he entered things into Leo's chart, "And how long has it been since he fell?"

"My aunt is studying to be a nurse like you and she told me not to mask the pain until I see you. I have no clue what that means!" Leo looked up at his dad.

Sebastián chuckled. "I promise we don't want to make him suffer, we just wanted him to assessed authentically."

"Whats adentcally mean?"Leo stared at the nurse starry eyed and Sebastián noticed right away, shyly taking a glimpse of his eyes.

"Ahem. He fell about 30 minutes ago."

"It means that they wanted to make sure that when you talk to me and the doctor that we can figure out the best way to help you instead of having to guess because the medicine made the pain go away," Antony explained as he examined Leo's arm a little bit, as he nodded at what the father said, "Okay so I am going to track down a doctor to sign off on getting you some x-rays, though he might want to meet with you first and ask all the same questions that I did. Then once the doctor gives the okay, we'll get you some pain meds to help it not so much, okay?"

Leo nodded and so did Sebastián, watching the man run off.

"He's so nice, daddy." Leo beamed and laid back.

"Ah, that he is my love." Sebastián kept watching, chuckling a bit as the super frazzled nurse wrestled with time. "Endearing."

"I have no clue what that means but you should see if he wants to have Thanksgiving with us!"

Sebastián snapped out of it, brow arching and looked at his son. "I'm not asking a man I just met to come over for dinner."

"Why not? Maybe he's single!"

"Okay, Leo. No more novelas with abuela. And it's because people don't move that fast in real life "

It took Antony much longer than he had expected to track down anyone that could actually authorize x-rays and let them get going. He had checked in a few times, just to make sure that Leo was still doing okay and that his father wasn't having an anxiety attack.

And as expected, the doctor asked about the same things that he had when he finally was able to meet with Leo, and ordered the x-rays.

"Okay, so Leo, I'm going to need you to tell your Dad to be brave and stay right here while I take you to the x-ray room because I think that he's freaking out a little bit," Antony said, giving the boy a playful wink.

Sebastián took Leo's jacket and watched as Antony the nurse took care of his son. "Thank you." He suddenly felt bashful. But thus definitely was not the time or place to flirt with a stranger.

"Okay, dad. I’m going to be okay. You can be brave, right?"

Seb chuckled and nodded and watched the nurse take his son away for imaging. Leo looked up at the nurse.

"How come you're working in Thanksgiving?"

"Well, I volunteered to," Antony answered the question as he wheeled Leo through the hallway, "My favorite sister went to Florida with her husband and it's way too hot to go there, and since I didn't really feel like doing anything else, I was like, why not go to work?" he explained, "Plus I love my job, and clearly we needed the help today."

Leo listened, keeping his injured arm to his chest. "That makes sense. My dad and I were supposed to go to abuelos house but my dad says he needs an attitude adjustment. Dad's been single forever so abuelo drives him crazy." He sighed. "I bet it's hard to date being so busy."

"Well between you and me, my Dad could use an attitude adjustment too," Antony admitted before chuckling, "I'm sure that if your Dad meets someone and they hit it off that'll change, because it can be pretty hard to date. Especially if you're working."

Leo laughed, already forgetting about the pain. "I hope so. You're a good nurse." Leo took a deep breath when they approached the radiology suite. "If my arm isn't broken, you should come to Thanksgiving dinner! We have tons of leftovers"

"You know I'm pretty sure your Dad won't want you inviting strangers to your Thanksgiving," Antony chuckled, "But as much fun as it would be, I still have work for another 6 hours, so i wouldn't be able to make it anyway."

Leo frowned behind his mask, not even thinking about what his father would think about him trying to set him up on Thanksgiving. "That blows." He followed the technician into the suite and did everything he was told. When the X-rays were done, Leo returned to his wheelchair and kept his arm close to his chest again. "It's really starting to hurt now."

"If it makes you feel better, my boyfriend promised that he'd bring me some pie after work so I'll still get some Thanksgiving food," Antony assured the boy with a smile, before nodding, "I'll get you some pain medication. Can you do pills or do you want the liquid kind. I can you they both taste gross but they'll help you feel better."

The mention of a boyfriend made him frown again and thankfully the mask would hide his disappointment. Leo then answered that he would be okay with the pills. "That's so nice of your boyfriend." When they arrived back to his bed, Sebastián has been waiting and stood up immediately.

"Hey, buddy! How'd it go? Hey, thank you, nurse Antony." He helped his son off his chair and onto the bed while the nurse went off to get some pain meds.

"He's dating someone. But he got stuck working Thanksgiving for like a bazillion hours. I still thing you have a chance, daddy."

"A chance? What are you talking about? Leo, ya no mas novelas." He was trying to hide the disappointment upon learning the cute nurse was already taken but that didn't surprise him one bit.

Getting the pain meds, Antony walked back into the bed with a cup of water and handed them both to Leo. "Okay I'm going to be around in about 15 minutes or so, hopefully the doctor will be around by then too but I don't make any promises. So do you think you'll need anything? More water? Pudding cup that I'll steal off a cart when nobody's looking?"

Sebastián waited for Leo to answer. Of course he wanting a pudding cup before taking the nurse to the side. "I'm so sorry. Leonardo thinks it's okay to ask personal questions. Im sure he chatted your ear off." Antony looked extremely busy so he didn't want to take him away from his work. "Anyway, we will be waiting. Thank you again. For everything. You're amazing by the way. You have such a kind patience about you. I appreciate you helping my kid find some calm in all of this." (edited)

"Don't worry about it, I'm used to kids being curious, it's one of their best traits," Antony smiled as he nodded. "Just doing my job, I'm glad that I was able to help," he assured them both, "If anything changes, just yell my name until someone comes, unfortunately the hall beds don't have a nurse button."

Waiting for the results was slightly excruciating but Sebastián understood that the hospital was insanely busy. He sat beside his son on the bed, watching as other kids came in crying. It made him sad for them and their families who now had to spend Thanksgiving in the ER as well. Looking around, he spotted their nurse running around like a chicken without a head. He was going to stick to his original statement that he was in fact endearing. A small smile spread across his face as he watched and Leo interrupted him with a clearing of his throat. "Yes, boss?"

"Who's cuter? Deli guy or the nurse?"

Sebastián laughed at the question, looking over his shoulder and then changing his position on the bed so he was facing his son better. "I can't really tell since he has a face mask on."

"I'm just saying. Deli guy didn't return your calls." Leo then chuckled when his father tickled the spot on his neck.

"You know too much. We're not talking about Reynaldo, Lee. We're also not setting me up with the nurse. Deal?"

"I mean, I can't he has a boyfriend. I bet he forgets the apple pie..."

Before Seb could ask his son what he was going on about, the doctor and nurse appeared once more.

As the doctor went over the x-rays and showed where the break was, Antony wasn't surprised when the doctor stated that he'd be setting the bone and putting on the cast - truly with how the day had been he had been expecting it.

"Okay Leo, can you do me a favor and while I look at your arm can you tell me your absolutely silliest story?" Antony asked, figuring once Leo was distracted he would set the bone - hoping that it would at least keep the boy from feeling too much pain.

Based on the nurse's words, Sebastián already knew what this meant. He wasn't exactly surprised. The way Leo felt, he knew was a break or at the very least, a fracture. Thankfully he didn't listen to his parents who were calling him an overreacting helicopter parent. He gave the nurse some space, allowing him to do his job, his eyes and concern on his first born.

"Last year in Kindergarten there my best friend and I went to lunch and and asked me..." Leo giggled. "He asked me what do you call butter when you throw out the window and and it was butterfly and and I couldn't stop laughing and then milk came out of my nose and it was soooo gross and and then the whole table laughed and then we tried to make me doing it again but it didn't happen and we couldn't stop laughing!"

As Leo told the story, Antony adjusted the boy's arm and set the bone, and feeling to make sure that everything else was alright.

"Alright, hardest part is over, can you wiggle your fingers for me, Leo?" Antony asked with a smile, "It should be a little easier to move now." (edited)

Sebastián noticed his son flinch but it seemed mild considering that the nurse was setting his break. When all was said and done, he looked closely at Leo who seemed to be relieved more than anything.

Leo wiggled his fingers and nodded. "that was so cool!"

"That really was great. Thank you, nurse Antony. You have been incredible. You'll be getting us out of here quicker than I had anticipated."

"Well cool is definitely one word for it," Antony chuckled, before nodding at his father, "It's really no problem. I'm just doing my job," he shrugged, blushing a little bit.

"So I'll also be putting on that cast for you, so I have a very important question: what color do you want? We have all of them but green."

"Blue, please!" Leo asked with excitement in his voice. Even though he was exhausted, he was so glad he got the best nurse in the world to take care of him. He'd never forget that.

"Good choice. I would have chosen green so I would have been pretty bummed." Sebastián chuckled, wanting to make small talk but also not wanting to overstep with the obviously focused, not interested nurse.

"I would have chosen green too, I was disappointed when we ran out earlier, but it's been that kind of day," Antony chuckled as he started on the cast.

"Now, I'm going to tell you the most important thing I can," he said as he worked, making sure that Leo was looking at him, "it's going to be itchy, you're going to want to scratch it. But you can't. Whatever you do don't put pencils in here, put in erasers. Or a spoon. Or a knife. Or a straw. Or anything else that I didn't just specify. They'll get stuck and can make things worse and the last thing that you want with a broken arm is an infection."

"Haha, look at that." Sebastián rubbed his son's good shoulder. "You're so brave, bud. After this, we can get some ice cream or something before heading back home. They both listened to the nurse talk about what not to do and nodded. "Got it, no spoons, Leo." Leo groaned as if on cue. They could take this show on the road. and Seb ruffled his hair. They both nodded their understanding, Leo thanking the nurse once more.

"Thank you, again. Hey, if there is a favorite ice cream you have, please let me treat you. We'll bring it back after this. You deserve it after this crazy day you're having."

"Well thank you for offering, but kosher ice cream isn't exactly the easiest to find and I really wouldn't want you to go out of your way trying to track some down," Antony insisted, "but I do have some at home that I will crack open tonight and I'll just pretend that it's from you."

"Are you kidding?" Sebastián chuckled. "It really isn't a bother. The South Bay has a huge Jewish community. There has to be something in Richmond or by Market Place. You set my son's arm. If we find it, we bring it, if not...consider it a rain check."

"Well, thank you," Antony smiled, a little flattered that the man seemed like he would go out of his way for something like that, when in his experience most people wouldn't, "Now....Leo should be all set. When you're doing the exit paperwork, they'll make sure to set up an appointment for us to come check out how it's healing."

"It's not a problem!" Sebastián smiled the best he could with his eyes and listened to the discharge instructions before they began to wrap up. He said his goodbyes, letting the nurse know how grateful he was and Leo did as well.

"He's nice, daddy."

"He is." Sebastián agreed as he got his son discharged and ready to go. "Let's find that ice cream!"

In the hours that past, Antony grew more and more tired as cases seemed to blur together. And by the time he finally got a chance to work on his charting, he was already late for meeting Jamie.

"You know, you said you'd be off 45 minutes ago," an angry voice said as a piece of pie was slammed on the desk of the nurse's station, with Antony jumping at the sudden sound.

"Jamie, I'm so sorry, things got busy today and...."

"Yeah, they always get busy Antony, it's Thanksgiving if you're going to bail then at least I should be with my family instead of waiting in the parking lot looking like a stood up asshole."

As expected, it wasn't much trouble finding some kosher ice cream for the nice nurse. Sebastián checked on Leo to make sure he was doing okay. He was met with a smiling 6-year-old, feasting on his Klondike bar and sour cream and chive potato chips. "I love you, dad" Leo rested his head against his dad's shoulder as they sat in the hospital parking lot, devouring their own version of Thanksgiving dessert. The nurse's ice cream was sitting on the center console. It was Klein's Vanilla Balltop Cone, a pack of four. The nurse was going to need it.

"I love you more, Lee. Come on, let's go drop this off." They finished off their ice cream and unbuckled their seatbelts to make their way back inside. Seb asked his son to sit out in the hospital lobby instead of exposing him again to the crazy ER and slipped on his surgical mask. He explained he was dropping off something for the nurse's station and made his way over, swinging the bag happily before stopping where he had been with Leo just hours earlier. "Oh." He realized the nurse was crazy busy which was no real surprise but also, realized he was in a spat with someone. "Hey, found it! Klein's best!" He held up the bag but there was no answer. This fight seemed serious and the other guy seemed like a jerk. Any other day, Seb would say something but the ER was packed and they needed the nurse. "I'll leave it on the counter here. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone." One of the other nurses nodded her head and took the bag, making a mental note to give it to Antony before placing it in the freezer and Seb made it back to his son.

Of course the fight turned into one about how Antony worked too much, which was one that he was used to. But then when he tried to defuse the situation and ask if the pie was kosher, it turned into a completely different fight about how it was just pie and that Antony was too restrictive with his eating. And by the time that Jamie finally had left and told Antony to lose his number he was ready to fall asleep.

"Someone left this for you," another nurse smiled, handing him a pint of kosher ice cream that he wasn't expecting.

"Wait, really?" Antony asked, "Who?"

"Hot single dad," the other nurse said, "Seems like a much better catch than Mr. Lose My Number who just left. Might want to give it a chance." she said with a wink. Sighing, Antony ignored the nurse - there were enough hot single dads that he saw that day and while he appreciated the ice cream, he still had charting to do. And better to focus on work than any of his own feelings.

Just like normal.

#the myth of the hot nurse #Sebastián #jamie is the worst

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