The Hospital: Slade/Patch/Tai-San/Ruby

[_slade_]

[Continued from HERESlade could tell the Doc was burbling nervously, and that he probably didn't meant to cause Slade to worry, however a couple of things the Doc said did make alarm bells go off in his head. The fact that the kid said he would try something new after lunch if she hadn't woken by then.... hearing that made Slade's blood begin to

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[tribe_patch]

It was still relatively early, and Patch was having a hard time focusing on what he was reading. His eyes were still blurry and stung a bit, but all in all he was making decent progress finding out what he needed to know. A mildly irritated looked crossed his face as he looked up and over at Slade. He was trying to learn as much as he could so this Ruby girl would have the best chance at making it, and the last thing he needed right now was to be interrupted. The fact that Slade had called him "kid" also put a sour feeling in his stomach. As if he didn't feel inadequit enough, being called "kid" didn't help. The irritation quickly fell away however when Slade requested some water and a cloth. God, what had he been thinking? "Yes, of course." He could have smacked himself and it showed. Patch gently but quickly set the book aside and went to gather what Slade had asked for. He'd been so wrapped up in making sure he was doing everything to see that both Tai-San and Ruby pulled through that he hadn't even thought about how they might look. It was a superficial thing really, but it was probably distressing to Slade to see his girlfriend with all that soot on her face. Being a doctor wasn't just about helping people who were hurt, it was making sure the people who were well didn't suffer needlessly either.

He soon returned with the requested supplies and set them down next to Slade, taking the opportunity to look closer at Ruby. "She seems to be breathing easily. There's no wheezing or coughing." He dipped the rag in the water and handed it to Slade, thinking he wanted to be the one to clean her up. "For smoke inhalation, the best medicine is oxygen, and she seems to be getting that well enough. See how her breathing's even? That's a good sign. We don't have any oxygen tanks here but,...she seems to be doing fine on her own. Don't worry though, I'll keep a close eye on her." Patch didn't want to worry Slade by telling him that Ruby's greatest risk right now wasn't the smoke, but the fact that she wasn't getting liquids. Usually, Patch wasn't one to pry, but he thought some light conversation would help ease Slade's state of mind. "So, how long have the two of you been together?"

[_slade_]

Slade listened, his face giving away none of his inner feelings and the relief he felt at finally being told some sort of medical news that actually explained partially Ruby's condition. This was all he had wanted to know, but he wasn't gonna beat on the kid for being slow on the uptake. Part of him kinda got how tough it probqably was, being the Doc in this day and age. What still irked him was the way that seemingly all of the Mall Rats had gathered round last night to totally ignore Ruby, and fuss over him instead. "Glad to see someone here knows what they're talking about." Slade said, with a slight edge of gratitude to his voice. For now, this was the nearest he would get to thanking the Doc. The real thanks would happen when Ruby woke up.

Having taken the cloth from the Doc Slade began to slowly and gently wipe away the soot from Ruby's face. He knew he was wiping her make-up off as well, but he didn't care, he just wanted her to be clean. He didn't like seeing her like this, and having her all soot free wasn't going to make her any better or make her wake up any quicker, but it would make him feel better that he could actually do something to help, no matter how small a gesture it was.

He continued to listen to the Doc, as he asked questions about homself and Ruby, and his mind boggled at what to tyell him. He wasn't one for explaining how he felt to strangers, then again he wasn't one for getting too close, and here he was worrying himself to death over Ruby. But still, what exactly should he say?

"Me and Ruby have been at the Saloon in Liberty for a while now. She was the boss, but I helped out. Not that she needed it, I tell ya, this girl can hold her own. I've seen her show guys a lesson or two on more than a few occasions." Slade said with a smile, thinking back to several instances where young guys went flying from the Saloon doors after facing Ruby's wrath. "I found her after she'd fallen from a horse, she was in a pretty bad stare so I took her to Liberty where I could help her out. I nursed her back to health and we've been sorta together ever since." Slade figured that was all he needed to say. The kid could infer from that what he wanted.

[tribe_patch]

Patch listened intently as Slade explained a little more about he and Ruby. It wasn't only for his own curiosity that Patch was asking questions about the new strangers, but he thought it might be best to know a little more about the two people who currently had access to the Mall. No one really knew much about them, and while Ruby certainly did look bad when she was brought in, there was always the chance it was a ruse. It wasn't that he was suspicious of them really. In fact, he felt pretty well at ease around Slade at the very least, but it was always better to be a little cautious than not. A bright smile lit up his face as his hand once more found the book he'd been looking at before. "She's lucky to have you." Only after he said it did he realize it kind of had a homo-esque tint to it, especially with his large toothy smile. Not wanting to give the new stranger the wrong impression, Patch elaborated further.

"What I mean is, it's not easy to find someone these days who you can rely on. Someone you can really count on to stay by your side." His smile grew bigger as he thought of Dee. He had that with her. He was just sure of it. Maybe today they could do something together. Something really special, like a surprise candle lit dinner. She'd never see it coming...and he wanted to do something romantic. It would be perfect, unless of course, he messed it up, or chickened out. He'd have to talk to someone else first, someone who knew exactly how to make the perfect candle lit dinner. Maybe Lex? Or Bray? Or Jay? It seemed like everyone in the mall knew more about romance than he did actually...Slade caught his eye again, and suddenly the answer nearly smacked him square in the face.

"Hey um...can I ask you a question?" Patch felt his cheeks glowing red again just thinking about how to ask advise from this near stranger. "It's kind of...personal." But Patch never got a chance to hear Slade's response, because at that second, Ebony came charging through the hospital doorway in a whirl wind, mowing over a table stacked with books and not even bothering to set it right again.