so, like... im taking that, thank you.
"Get me the suture kit," Medic ordered, holding together the wound on Whumpee's side with her fingers to keep him from bleeding out any more than he already was.
"On it," Teammate called as he dug around in her supplies.
Team Leader was standing in the corner, arms crossed over his chest. To someone who didn't know him, he looked disinterested. But his teammates knew him, and they knew that he was far from that.
Medic began sewing up the wound, trying to close it quickly and efficiently. But she realized that, even with the wound closed, Whumpee couldn't go on with how much blood he had lost. He was a sickly kind of pale, and his temperature wouldn't stop dropping.
"He needs a transfusion," Medic finally said.
"We're out of blood," Teammate said as he rummaged through the cabinets.
Medic sighed, then looked up from Whumpee. "I know."
Teammate moved closer, looking at Whumpee in his pathetic state. "Well, what do we do? I can try and call someone. I'm sure there's someone who does this sort of thing."
Medic shook her head, quiet for a few moments. She really didn't want to have to do this. She really didn’t want to. But she had no choice. "Team Leader, Whumpee's blood type is B Positive."
His head snapped up, making eye contact with Medic. His gaze was pleading, but Medic tried to ignore it.
"We don't have a choice. Come on." She gestured to a chair next to where he was standing, and he hesitated for a moment before sitting down.
Team Leader's legs immediately began bouncing, hands fidgeting as Medic gathered the supplies she'd need. She could see how quickly his chest was rising and falling, and she could see the way that he was trying to make it stop.
"Teammate," she said as she sat down in the chair in front of Team Leader, "watch Whumpee."
Team Leader was, somehow, paler than Whumpee, and he hadn't lost any blood yet. Medic felt awful, but she kept repeating that mantra to herself: we don't have a choice.
"Hey," she said as she rolled up his sleeve. "Breathe. You've gotta relax." She wiped the crook of his elbow with an alcohol swab and Team Leader's head fell back against the wall, eyes closed.
Medic gave up on comforting him, instead just popping the cap off of the needle and slipping it beneath his skin. He flinched and looked down. "No, don't look. Don't look." Medic put a hand on his knee, trying to get him to stop shaking.
He could feel the blood leaving his body. He could smell it (or maybe he was just convincing himself that he could). Either way, it was too much.
Team Leader swallowed, choking back a whimper. "Is it... hmm... Is it done... yet?"
"Not yet. You're okay." Medic kept her voice quiet and calm, but she gripped his arm tightly to keep it still. In all her years of working in the medical field, she had never seen someone shake so badly.
Medic finally finished drawing the blood, and she immediately rushed over to Whumpee, hooking up an IV so that he could get the blood he needed.
She could see that Team Leader was not okay, though. He was still trembling, staring at the floor as if it was a million miles away. "Just relax, Team Leader. It's over. You're okay."
He didn't nod. She didn't expect him to.
And she didn't have a choice.