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Hey everyone! I'm back with Cole again! This is a pretty short chapter, but I felt it ended on a strong note. I'll have more up soon! Hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter 4

Cole sipped his coffee, enjoying the warmth of the liquid as, in his mind, rejuvenated him a bit. The long shift had been particularly tiring after more big city violence brought in patients to his ER. His escapades from several nights before still rocked his mind as he slowly tried to come to terms with what had happened. His friends insisted he shouldn't see it as a big deal, but to the young man it was something more. A feeling almost elusive even to himself. Cole sighed again as he tossed the cup.

"Cole. I need you to go do that tour now. You still have a couple hours left in your shift but since you came in early you can go home afterward."

"Mmhmm. Thanks."

"You okay?" The bear looked at him through her glasses, concern on her face.

"Tired. A lot on my mind but I'm okay. Thanks."

"Yeah. Get to it. Don't wanna keep the big bosses waiting."

"Aye aye."

Cole stood up from his station as his supervisor took his place.

"Au revoir Miriam."

"Bye!" The bear waved.

Cole took a deep breath as he began his walk to the main lobby. He didn't want to do the tour, but the big wigs knew his name now and he wasn't going to disappoint. He learned very quickly in the Navy that if someone important knew your name, it was up to you to keep it in good context. The receptionist looked up as he approached the desk.

"Hello Cole!"

"Hey Brina. Where is the guest of the hour I'm supposed to meet?"

"Overrrr...There!" She pointed to a man in a suit. A German Shepard most likely. "He just got here so don't worry about him having to wait. His meeting is in half an hour with the board so about fifteen minutes should be enough."

"Thanks! Wish me luck!"

"Break a leg!" The hamster smiled.

Cole chuckled. He appreciated his coworkers, all seemed to have warmed up to him nicely. Or maybe he warmed up to them. Either way, he enjoyed the comraderie that helped eleaviate the usual awkwardness of meeting new people. The man in the suit was standing facing away from Cole. His ears swiveled toward the sound of the nurse.

"Sir? My name is C-"

"Cole?" The suited Shepard turned to face Cole.

"Huu.." Cole nearly choked as his throat knotted up.

"Its good to see you! I had no idea you were working here! Let alone assigned to give me a tour. How have you been?" The Shepard

Cole stood frozen. Disbelief painted his face, but there as a hint of hurt and anger seeping through. After all this time.

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"I can't do this. I can't see your career gone because of me."

"It's MY career and MY decision!" The young man shouted. Tears rolled down his face and stained the white uniform.

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"How... Kyle WHY are you here?"

"Well my father got me the job. With my degree and desire to go into the business side of pharmaceuticals he started me out as a rep. Get in the field, boots on the ground, ya know? So Cliffton Memorial is one of the hospitals I'm assigned to for Chesterfield Medicines."

"Of all the fucking hospitals..." Cole muttered.... "Look, here's how this is gonna go. I'm gonna be nothing more than professional, and you'll be nothing more than professional. I have my name up in the big office upstairs and I'm not gonna have it soiled. As far as anyone here is concerned, we are just people who work in the same building. Okay?"

"Sure Cole. But...you okay?"

"Irrelevant. Tour is officially starting." Cole started walking, "Cliffton Memorial Medical Center is divided into four separate buildings. The current building houses the ER, Trauma Center, Intensive Care Unit, and the OR's for those departments, as well as patient care rooms and observation. While the departments are named differently, all work together closely, work often blending together during a particularly bad crisis or work day. As such we share the same pharmacy and often staff as well. This keeps the budgets separate, and the books easier to watch yet allows fluidity in time of crises. Or so I'm told. To me, the books could be in Klingon for all I care, as long as we can do our job and take care of our patients." Cole turned to the next hall and opened the door.

"So do you track medicine uses separately for each department?"

"Yes. Each prescription from a doctor is labeled and field under the correct department. Helps the hospital keep track of all the numbers for each department and react accordingly to keep supplies at the right levels. We always keep enough in reserve for emergencies."

"Do your pharmaceutical needs change seasonally?"

"Certain things like flu and cold medicine, yes. While the types of medical situations shift seasonally, and some of our medical supplies do, our overall use stays fairly even." Cole led the shepherd to another set of doors and stopped.

"What do you mean you situations shift seasonally?"

"For instance, right now, coming up on the holidays we're dealing with the fallout from robberies, carjackings and the like. When the temperature really starts to drop we get the frostbites victims. Homeless people, people that can't afford heat and the like. When the roads start freezing over and it snows, the idiots that move here and don't bother to learn winter driving or change their tires cause massive pileups. More spinal and cranial trauma, crush trauma, amputations and the like. Holidays are always a mess. Drink driving, domestics... New Years and July 4th bring burn and explosion trauma. Christmas trees catch fire all the fucking time. On the opposite side, summer time brings out more overall violent crimes. Shootings, stabbings, muggings and gang retaliations rise. People get angry in the heat. This hospital is at the center of it all."

"Damn.

"Indeed." Cole pushed though the door. "We can't go too far into here, but this building houses the Pediatrics Department, along with the Mothers and Babies Unit and Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit. One of the few in the city. Pediatrics also deals with the child cancer patients that need non-critical day to day care."

"So you have incubators and the like for premature babies, as well as cancer drugs for the child patients?"

"Essentially. This isn't really my wing of the hospital so you'd really have to ask someone here, but we can't bother them with that right now." Cole said, heading back to the main corridor.

"No worries."

After a minute Cole led Kyle into a new wing that smelled far less of disinfectant and cleaning agents. It was more of an office building.

"This building houses our administrative offices, records, main pharmacy, security, and supply offices. Your meeting will be on the top floor. The receptionist up there can guide you. Any questions?"

"What is that building?" Kyle pointed out the window.

"Private wing. It's pretty new. Anything not needing to be handled specifically by one of the departments can go there. Nice rooms, better food etcetera. All the hospital needs rich people can buy. It kind of sickens me, but the money is well worth it, or so we're told, and helps keep the place running. Also the rich patients tend to donate when they get out processed. If it means I can have enough supplies to save lives, then I say let the rich people be away from us peasants, and be irritating and demanding elsewhere."

"I'll keep that bit out when they ask how the tour went." Kyle chuckled.

"Well bluntness is a virtue in the ER when we need to be fast."

"I bet." The shepherd looked at his watch. "Well I'm gonna be late soon. Better get up there. Thanks again Cole. I'll put in a good word."

"Yup." Cole turned to head back to the ER.

"Cole." Kyle said firmly.

"What?" Cole said with a sigh, turning to regard the shepherd with a beleaguered look.

"It's good to see you again. I can't say much but.... I'm sorry." Kyle looked at him with a sad frown. "I was wrong and I'm sorry."

"That it?"

"Yeah."

Cole turned and walked back to the ER without a word.

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"I don't understand! I'm the one with everything to lose and I want to stick this out!"

"I CAN'T WATCH YOU DESTROY YOUR FUTURE JUST BECAUSE OF ME!!! It's too risky!!!" Kyle yelled at the sobbing officer.

"If anyone, and I mean ANYONE finds out, you're out in a heartbeat with a dishonorable discharge! That is enough reason for anyone that dislikes you, is a bigot, or any of your father's political enemies to use our relationship as a weapon! I am NOT allowing this to become a hammer that destroys you!"

Cole collapsed backwards onto the couch, stunned and sobbing. Kyle shook his head, tears on his face. He couldn't handle it, and raced out the front door.

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Cole slammed the side exit door open, startling an orderly, security guard, and doctor at the smoking area.

"Anyone got a menthol?" Cole asked.

Doctor Simmons guiltily produced a pack of Smooths and a lighter, holding them up to Cole. Cole snagged one, lit it and took a long drag, simultaneously hating and loving it.

"You okay man? Never see you out here." Robby the security guard asked.

"No." Cole said simply, taking another pull as his head spun from emotion and nicotine.

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Kyle watched Cole storm off in a blur of blonde hair and navy blue scrubs. Once Cole disappeared through a set of fire doors, the shepherd entered the nearest elevator and pushed the top floor button. As the elevator rose so did memories.

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Kyle burst out the brownstone doors and into the DC streets and nearly collided with a tall, fair skinned blonde woman, but kept moving. He had to get away.

"What the fuck? Kyle?!"

Kyle turned to see Cole's sister Shane, and her dark haired husband Drake.

"I'm sorry." He let out a hiccough, "I'm so very sorry." As he turned and fled he heard high heels sprint up the steps to Cole's building.

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