Look What Lightning Broke (Infirmary)

[Allen Hollows]

Allen was out, for the moment. He had just fought Leon Sudeki, who made Allen look like a pup fighting a mastiff. He was absolutely destroyed- his left arm was shattered (again), his whole body covered in cuts. His scapula was cracked if not broken, and his left ankle was twisted to the side.

Well fuck.

[Arianna Barrial]

Arianna strode in, looking over the x-rays. It would be so much more simple to just use her power, but she couldn't afford to, and Allen's injuries - while concerning - were not major enough to warrant such drastic measures. Pale honey eyes rolled up to the ceiling, searching for something a moment that clearly wasn't there. And then she sighed.

"Surgery it is." What sort of impact was she supposed to make here? It was too bad she couldn't just suddenly develop an ability that would let her do some lay-on-hands healing. "Your arm is shattered, and I'll need to take a closer look at your ankle's x-rays...but if I'm doing one I may as well do both, Mister Hollows."

Either he would be aware or she would be talking to herself. Either way, her decision had been made.

[Allen Hollows]

He was entirely unaware, and she'd be able to perform whatever surgery was necessary.

[Arianna Barrial]

[7 hours later]

Arianna leaned back in the chair beside Allen's bed; the surgery itself was...mostly without hassle, aside from his arm being shattered and requiring some extensive repairs and plates. Now they were both waiting around in recovery: Allen from anesthetic and Arianna from a general weariness. Technically she didn't really need to handle the recovery, but call it part of her bedside manner that she wanted to ensure everything was running well.

She sipped at a large glass of water, and then tipped her head back, the cup cradled in her lap.

[Allen Hollows]

As he opened his eyes, he winced a little at the light before his gaze turned over to the woman sitting there.

"Y-you....who are you?"

He wasn't familiar with the medical staff, despite having been here multiple times. He wasn't a very good patient, after all and usually left before anyone ever met him. He took a slow and deep breath, trying to collect himself before wincing in pain.

"Where is....the supervisor?"

[Arianna Barrial]

"Doctor Arianna Barrial. I'm fairly new here." Arianna blinked and then tilted her head. "No clue. Why?"

[Allen Hollows]

Allen lay back in bed.

"I....wanted a mission. Seems he doesn't think I'm worthy of one yet."

He brought a hand up and clenched his fist, anger welling up inside him.

[Arianna Barrial]

"So he...beat you for wanting a mission..?" A pale brow lifted. "Why don't you tell me everything, Allen?"

[Allen Hollows]

Allen shook his head.

"No I...I wanted to fight him, to test himself. But he needed to assess me and....I clearly didn't match up."

He sank further into bed, closing his eyes as the anger started to turn to depression.

"I want to be more than I am. I asked for a mission and a fight. He gave me one but not the other. That's....about all I've got."

[Arianna Barrial]

"Did he explicitly say you didn't match up, or are you just making assumptions..?" She was watching him, intrigued but at the same time, tolerant and not giving in to the pity-party he was having.

[Allen Hollows]

His eyes slipped back open, then thought about it. Her point was....fair.

He looked back over at her, brows furrowed.

"I suppose...you have a good point. Guess pain and disappointment cloud thinking at times."

[Arianna Barrial]

"They do. I'm no stranger to it." Her expression was compassionate, at least. "You have a broken arm and ankle, though. Unless you want to face permanent disability, I'm going to be putting a note on your file that suspends you from field work and missions until I've given you the clearance. In the mean time, you're not to overtax yourself. For the next week you're going to need more rest than activity, but you can walk around. No strenuous training or anything that will aggravate your injuries. Am I understood?"

The infirmary staff weren't daft, after all. There were plenty of notes on how this Mister Hollows dodged things like aftercare. She was willing to bet one of many reasons he was back was in part due to that.

[Allen Hollows]

He'd nod.

"That's fair."

It still stifled his desire to get out there...but he couldn't argue with what she said. She was the doctor after all. He'd looked to her.

"Our supervisors....have you met them?"

[Arianna Barrial]

"One, and he's one I knew many years ago. He doesn't remember anything, though." She blinked slowly, and then lightly pat the knee of his unbroken leg. "Now...don't take the suspension as saying you're not good enough, just give your body time to mend and heal, and grow stronger from it."

[Allen Hollows]

"I understand."

He blinked.

"Who uh...was it? The one you knew?" He'd clear his throat. "And...were they always this strong?"