Ruffy

[Eric Copper]

Eric was playing his Nintendo DS, sitting relatively quietly and mostly out of the way of the nurses who went about their night's work. He had essentially become part of the overnight crew, having volunteered here most overnights for the past few months. Since he never slept, Eric had decided that it would be good to spend his nighttime hours with children who needed a friend when most other people couldn't be there for them.

"Eric?" He looked up at Nurse Lemka's voice. "Pam's awake in room 302. Could you--"

"I'm on it!" In the blink of an eye, the DS was tossed in his backpack and Eric was bounding quietly down the hall to room 302. Nurse Lemka sighed in exasperation as he left, but couldn't keep herself from smiling.

Quietly, he poked his head in Pam's room. The other bed in here was empty, leaving her by herself for now. Eric had spent some time with her a few other times over the past two weeks. He knew bits and pieces about her, as he did most of the kids here. She was eight years old and lived in Steel Canyon. Her parents visited her for hours every evening after they got off of work--they couldn't afford to take time off, not with all the medical expenses and them not having any insurance. Her favorite color was light green and her favorite food was mint chocolate ice cream. Eric tried to remember all the important things.

"Hey Pam!" He spoke quietly, yet not without his characteristic positive energy. He stepped in the room, leaving the door open a crack so that the nurses could peek in if they wished. "Nurse Lemka said you were having trouble sleeping again."

Pam sniffled. "Is Ruffy okay? I miss him..." She looked like she'd been crying, but was doing a valiant effort to seem otherwise.

Eric moved the visitor's chair next to her bed and sat down. "Of course he's okay, Ruffy's a strong puppy! I bet he misses you too, though."

That did it. The floodgate opened and Pam started crying again. Eric scooted closer and put an arm around her, pulling her against him. "Hey, hey, what's all these tears for?" He kept his voice very gentle. Pam cried into his shirt for a few minutes before calming down. Eric kept murmuring quiet reassurances, letting her cry herself out some.

"I want to see Ruffy," she said finally. Eric felt her rubbing her face in his shirt, which meant he'd probably have some snot spots there later.

"I bet he wants to see you, too." Eric thought for a moment. Pam had already been here for two weeks, and it didn't look like she was leaving any time soon. Like Eric, she was a mutant, but her mutation hadn't brought any powers with it. Instead, it gave her endless medical problems, putting her in the hospital off and on for most of her life. Eric didn't really understand what the exact problems were, but he knew that right now, her life depended on the IV that was in her arm. And the doctors seemed to think that might not even be enough anymore.

"But I bet right now, Ruffy's sleeping. He'd prooobably want you to sleep, too."

Pam smiled shyly. "He likes to sleep."

"You know..." Eric smiled warmly. "If you go to sleep, and Ruffy's asleep, you'll be doing the same thing at the same time. And even though you can't be with him, maybe it'll help you feel like he's here anyway, because I bet he's thinking about you in his dreams, too."

Pam nodded. She settled back down in her bed, and Eric helped get her sheets comfortably situated. "Eric, can you read to me again tonight?"

"Of course I can! Let's see..." Eric picked up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone from the bedside table. "You'd just finished the part where they got sorted, right?"

Pam nodded again, smiling a bit. Eric started reading the next chapter to her in a calm, quiet voice. He'd scarcely made it halfway through before she drifted off to sleep. He bookmarked the spot and crept quietly out into the hallway.

In the morning, he'd have to speak with Head Nurse Rashid. The hospital had rules against pets coming in... but maybe he could talk her into making an exception. Or at least, maybe he could convince her to turn a blind eye while he broke the rule anyway. Pam needed to see Ruffy.

[Eric Copper]

((This story happens before the invasion, thanks to the power of WonkyTime!))


"But Nurse Rashid!! She's so looooonely. She needs her puppy. Pleeeeease?"

Head Nurse Salih Rashid sighed. It was very hard to deter someone who had more energy at any given moment than you did during an entire day.

"Eric, I'm sorry, but rules are there for a reason. I'd love if she could see Ruffy again, too, trust me I would. I wish all our patients could have all the things they need to feel better. But hospitals just are not safe places for pets to be." She looked over at Eric's defiant pout. "And don't even think about trying to sneak him in here. I mean it. The boy in the next room, Chuck? He's allergic. You don't want to make him feel worse, do you?"

"Well no, but... but there has to be a way!! There's always a way!"

"I'm glad you're thinking so positively Eric, but I'm telling you, it's--"

"OH!!!" Eric's eyes suddenly widened and he started bouncing excitedly. Nurse Rashid moved some loose papers further away from the edge of the table, an act that was by now reflexive around Eric. "I've seen people bring seeing eye dogs into the cafeteria!! So dogs are allowed in the hospital!! We just have to have them meet half way."

"Eric, we..." She paused, considering. Pam had to stay on her IV, but they could move her down there with a wheelchair readily enough. Dogs were allowed in the cafeteria. It'd technically be against the rules, possibly, but it wouldn't hurt anything. And Pam really would benefit from it a lot, she suspected. And Eric... She looked back at Eric, who was trying very hard not to bounce any more. "Tell you what. Let me check the schedule to see who's in when, and we'll try to arrange something in a few days. Okay?"

Nurse Rashid smiled as Eric squeeled with enthusiasm, then slapped his hand over his mouth when he realized how loud he was. "Thorry," he said through his fingers, then giggled before dropping his hand. "Thank you Nurse Rashid!!"

"Yeah, yeah. Now get going. I have medicine to go hand out."

She chuckled to herself as Eric skipped away, bright and happy again. Too bad she couldn't make her patients that happy.