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

breaking down the barricades

"I should have seen it coming."

The injured woman fiddles with the fabric of her ripped, bloody cardigan. She lets out a sigh as she lets it go, turning her attention to the officer sitting next to her. The ride in the back of the ambulance isn't exactly comfortable, nor is it smooth, but at least it's warm. After all, it wasn't Nico's first ride in the back of the rig, and it sure wouldn't be his last either.

He grins a little, steadying himself as the ambulance slows and turns into the ambulance bay of the hospital. The paramedic in the back with them stands, readying himself to get the patient out and seen to as fast as possible.

"It isn't your fault," Nico reminds the patient, as the look of guilt crosses her face again. She manages to smile for a second or two, before the ambulance doors are swung open and the sun floods in, revealing a small crowd of doctors.

Nico stands as the paramedic jumps out, informing the doctors with all needed information as they wheel her out, Nico following close behind. It takes a small jog for Nico to keep up with the pace of the doctors, but he doesn't fall behind.

"Is there anything else we should know?" one of the doctor's questions, looking between the paramedic and Nico as she waits for an answer. She checks the reactiveness of the patient's eyes and concludes that there isn't a serious head injury, and turns back to the two men.

"The knife she was attacked with was coated with rust," Nico speaks up, and the doctor nods as she takes it in. She checks the laceration just above the woman's left brow, cleans it with a gauze, and thanks the two of them before dismissing them.

Nico lifts his hand as a small gesture to say goodbye to the woman, who shoots him a thankful smile back as he disappears around the corner of the trauma room. He pulls his phone from his pocket, not looking where he is going, to let his partner know that the patient was fine and that he needed a lift back to the station.

He decides that while he waits, he deserves a coffee. After all, he'd already been working eight hours, what harm could a coffee do? A quick glance upwards lets Nico know that the cafeteria is not far, so he picks up the pace, needing to get some fuel in him before the next job gets called in.

The warm smell of food, mixed with the scent of coffee, leads him the rest of the way. Thankfully, there aren't many people sitting around, so he grabs what he wants and takes a seat in the corner, on the empty table by the window.

The sun manages to leak through the blinds just enough to keep Nico warm as he checks for an update from his partner. According to the new text on his screen, they were still busy at the scene, and would be for a while. Nico guessed that would be the answer before he'd even got the text. He sighs, and takes a sip from his coffee. Absolute bliss.

Sometimes, Nico wishes he could stay on the scene, work things out and catch the criminal. He understands that his station is just trying to protect him, since his last injury. He was still very much healing, and his shoulder was sure taking it's time to get better. It frustrates him more than he cares to admit, but he does quite enjoy getting to escort patients.

He slumps back in his chair and rolls his left shoulder back, wincing a little at the ache that makes itself known. Maybe he shouldn't have attempted to stop the criminal. His attempts had been in vain, anyway. He'd gotten away. At least the woman was fine, that much kept Nico from feeling so guilty.

"Well, if it isn't Officer Kim!"

A familiar voice calls out to him. He turns his attention to the direction the voice came in, smiling once he lays his eyes on his friend.

"You've seen better days," Nico quips as he stands from his seat, feet of the chair scraping against the cafeteria floor. It makes Nico cringe a little bit, but he ignores it. He steps to the side as his friend arrives at the table, greeting him with a small hug.