S C H M I C O || A collection of short stories

No Way

Levi loves his job. After all, what isn't there to love about it? Saving lives on the daily, interacting with some incredible people, working alongside some surgical legends. There wasn't much to dislike about the job.

Except for those days. The days where everything seemed to just go down the drain. The days where life was just plain unfair, taking the lives of those who had been fighting so hard, the young, the innocent, yet to experience their life. The days where his brain just couldn't function correctly; stumbling over each and every word he tried to form, his usual case of butterfingers, the staring from his peers as they tried to figure out why he was acting so clumsy.

Today happened to be one of those days.

Levi absent-mindedly picks at his skin as he reads over the chart, tongue stuck out in concentration. He should have worn his glasses today, as his contacts were unusually irritating. He blinks a couple of times before he lets out a sigh, using his index finger to rub underneath his eyes. It does little to relieve his eyes of the dull burning pain.

No matter how many times his eyes scan over the words etched into the paper, his brain refuses to acknowledge them. Refuses to take them in.

"Are you done yet, Schmitt?" Meredith asks from behind him as she walks up, startling him out of his trance. He straightens his back, clearing his throat as he turns to her. She has her hair early tucked up into a bun, yet Levi can't help but notice the thin strand that has come loose. "I need those charts so I can discharge Mr. Jones."

"I, uh- Yeah, I'm done with them," He slides the chart off of the countertop, glancing at it for a brief moment before wearily handing it over. Meredith gives him a weird sort of look, almost as if she was secretly questioning him, as she grabs it from his hands. Levi just happens to notice the somewhat aggressive way she took it from him.

Whether or not that was intentional, it still pricks at Levi's mind.

"Link has requested you, I suggest you go find him," She says blanky as she checks over the charts herself. To Levi, that was her questioning his ability to do things right. He swallows thickly, nodding. She doesn't even give him a second glance as she walks off.

It really seemed as if the world was nipping at his heels today, teasing and taunting his every move. Even still, he takes a deep breath, shuts his eyes, gives himself a moment to compose. Perhaps Link would be in a better mood. He was always one of the more cheery people at the hospital, no matter the day or the circumstances. Levi sometimes found it somewhat unnerving.

He makes his way down the halls of the hospital, weaving in and out between gurneys and people, making sure to not trip over anything. Yet, despite his best efforts, his foot still catches on the side of a gurney, causing him to stumble.

A clumsy doctor. That isn't what patients wanted to see in a hospital. That really instilled a sense of confidence about how they were to be treated.

Thankfully, in just the nick of time, he catches himself. His heart pounds in his chest as he runs his hands over his scrubs, straightening out the slight wrinkles in them that were slowly beginning to form. People stare at him, whispers being exchanged between a few, and he tries his best to ignore them. It doesn't do much. He curses to himself as he rushes around the corner, finally making it to the room where he'd been told Link was in.

As he enters, he catches Link entertaining a young girl, a fresh cast on her arm. It doesn't surprise him that the cast is that terrible hot pink color. He smiles plainly as he closes the door behind him.

"Ah, Dr. Schmitt. Can you take all this and return it where it needs to be? I'm a little busy with little Fiona here," He subtly nods his head towards the girl perched on the bed next to him, legs crossed in front of her as she plays with a scruffy looking stuffed giraffe. One of its ears is hanging on by a thread, one of its eyes completely missing. Levi can't help but grin at the girl, until he looks at the large pile of stuff that Link has requested him to clean up.