✧ Broken ribs suck. You don’t just “walk it off.” Breathing hurts. Laughing hurts. Existing hurts. Characters with rib injuries won’t be doing heroic sprints.
✧ Concussions aren’t instant naps. Dazed vision, nausea, dizziness, maybe even personality changes, but they’re not going to collapse neatly like in the movies.
✧ Blood loss is sneaky. It’s not just about dramatic pools of blood. It’s dizziness, confusion, and the body getting cold as circulation tanks.
✧ Adrenaline lies. Someone can take a serious injury and not feel it until the fight’s over. That “I didn’t realize I was bleeding until later” trope? Very real.
✧ Twisted ankles are brutal. One bad step and suddenly running is off the table. Even walking hurts like hell. Perfect way to ground a chase scene.
✧ Burns linger. Even small burns hurt more than most people expect. Blisters, infection risk, constant pain, it’s not just a cool scar later.
✧ Dislocated shoulders = useless arm. Characters can’t keep swinging a sword or firing a gun. They’re basically fighting one-armed until it’s fixed.
✧ Shock is a thing. Pale skin, trembling, rapid heartbeat, and eventually disorientation. A character might not even realize how bad their wound is.
✧ Stitches aren’t magic. Getting sewn up is painful and recovery takes time. They’re not instantly battle-ready after a needle and thread.
✧ Scars tell stories. Some fade, some don’t. Some stay sensitive forever. Don’t forget the aftermath when the wound becomes part of the character.
“They felt sick.” — Vague.
“They threw up.” — Sometimes, but not always.
Illness isn’t a switch you flip. Fever and nausea creep, spike, ebb, lie to you, then come back worse. They live in the body first, and that’s where your writing should live too.
Below, I've written a lil' cheat sheet for you. Reblog so you can come back later.
THE BODY LANGUAGE OF FEVER & NAUSEA
Skin & Temperature
Skin alternates between clammy and burning
Deep internal warmth
Sudden chills while sweating
Clothes feel wrong, either too heavy, too tight, too warm, not warm enough, etc.
Goosebumps even in a warm room
Face flushed, ears hot, neck damp
Head & Senses
Head feels pressurized or stuffed with cotton
Eyes ache when moving
Nose stuffed (on either one side, or both)
Ears ringing or deaf on one side
Lights are too bright/sharp
Sounds blur together
Food smells gross
Room feels tilted or surreal
Focus slips mid-thought
Food/water has an aftertaste
Stomach & Core
Nausea that comes in waves
Swallowing feels deliberate, effortful
Dry swallowing, dry throat—dry everything
Saliva thickens or pools suddenly
Abdomen tightens
Hunger exists but is nauseating at the same time
Body curls inward without thinking
Mouth & Throat
Tongue feels coated
Taste turns metallic, bitter, or flat
Lips dry; licking them doesn’t help
Gag reflex hair-trigger sensitive
Breathing through the mouth makes it worse
Movement & Posture
Barely any movement
Sitting becomes slouching, then curling
Standing too fast triggers instant nausea/dizziness
Hands brace on thighs, counters, walls
Feet shuffle; balance checked constantly
Body seeks cold surfaces or firm pressure
Voice & Speech
Voice dulls or drops in volume (due to plugged nose and raspy throat)
Words come slower
Sentences trail off unfinished
Irritation spikes easily (even if people are being nice)
Delayed responses
Apologies come out automatically (“Sorry. Sorry.”)
NOT ALL “SICK” FEELS THE SAME
Fever (infection-based):
Comes with chills + heat
Mental fog, slowed reaction time
Body aches feel deep, joint-based
Thirst increases, appetite drops
Sleep is restless, sweaty, unrefreshing
Colds / Flu:
More head pressure, sinus heaviness
Heavy cough, sore throat
Heavy fatigue
Fever may be mild or absent (especially colds)
Chronic Illness Flares:
Pain is familiar but still intense
Less panic, more resigned
Symptoms stack (fatigue + nausea + pain)
Character may ration movement and speech
Recovery expectations are lower
Menstrual Cramps:
Pain pulses rhythmically
Heat helps
Nausea tied to motion and smell
Sensitive emotions (more prone to snapping, saying things they regret)
Body feels heavy
Stress-Induced Nausea:
No fever, no chills
Jaw tension, shallow breathing
Nausea spikes during stillness
Relief when distracted or moving
These differences matter. They change how a character reacts, not just how they feel.
So yeah, hope that helps. You don't need vomiting on the page every time. Sometimes being sick is feeling off-key, or sometimes it's quiet recovery. It varies. The symptoms are one part of your story, the rest is up to characterization and plot. Why is illness relevant to your story? Why is this character sick, and how is it different from another character? You can have a lot of fun with this.
Written by a human with a headache and too much experience lying very still, hoping it passes. If you liked this post, buy me a coffee... or cough medicine. 😔
Summary: You’d gone straight to the gym after work, or else you would have seen the condition your roommate was in earlier. After getting home for your shift in The Pitt, and subsequent gym session that came after it, you find your roommate suffering from appendicitis and rush them to the ED. All would be well except in the rush to get there you forget that you were braless in a top that leaves nothing to the imagination. Now in the chilly ER you are faced with the senior attending who has been secretly pining over you for months, and the piercings you got when you turned nineteen are on full display for him to see.
Tags: Jack Abbot x Resisdent!Reader, Female reader, age gap (reader is 29), mildly explicit content, public setting, smoking mentioned, mutual pining, minor jealousy, no use of y/n
Word Count: 6.4K
A/N: So fun tidbit for this fic, the story reader tells Santos is entirely my own experience. That actually happened to me verbatim. Also nothing about the fic itself, but about the formatting. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve written a one shot fic on here, and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to centre the page breakers, so if anybody can help a guy out so I can stop looking stupid I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!
Part 1 | Part 2
You’d barely stepped through the door before you were pulling the slightly sweaty sports bra off from underneath your shirt, breathing a sigh of relief at finally being free from the constricting material. You knew your roommate wouldn’t mind. You had both seen each other in various degrees of nakedness over the years, a nipple through a tight sports tee was nothing new in your apartment. You threw the garment straight into the washer as you passed by on your way to the living room where you assumed your roommate would be waiting for you. After all, you had one more episode of your current Netflix binge left to watch, and you knew she would still be up waiting for you.
The living room was dark when you opened the door. Odd. Your roommate never had the lights off. In fact it had been a point of contention between you when you’d first moved in together whilst you were still a medical student. She would walk into a room, turn all the lights on and then leave them on when she left. It had stressed you out more than you’d liked to admit as a student just barely scraping by from month to month, but the habit never left. So the fact that the living room was not illuminated right now was setting alarm bells off for you. You flicked the light switch on regardless.
”Hello? Are you alive in here?” You asked as you walked in, hoping that she had just fallen asleep after a hard day at work. There was a small groan from the bundle of blankets on the couch. In an instant you were crouching down beside where she was laid. ”Hey. What’s going on?” Your roommate was pale and clammy from the small amount you could see poking out of the blankets. You pulled them off of her, despite her argument, in an attempt to further check her over. “Tell me what’s going on.” You insist, quickly going back into doctor mode as your eyes scan her body.
”It’s just a stomach ache. I probably just have food poisioning.” She mumbled.
”Have you puked at all?”
”A couple times.” She shrugged, wincing again at the pain.
”Okay, I’m going to press on your stomach here. Tell me if it hurts.” You begin prodding at her stomach, pressing a few times before she screams out in pain. Guarding and tenderness in the lower right quadrant. These were tell tale signs for appendicitis. You had to get her to the ER now.
~~~
Through sheer will and determination you managed to drag your roommate out of the apartment and down the stairs to your car. You hadn’t stopped to put a coat on either of you, and barely managed to slip your crocs —the ones you only ever wear to take the bins out— onto your feet. It wasn’t until you had situated your roommate in the backseat of your car did you realise that she was only wearing socks herself. Oh well, shoes can wait right now. From the quick exam you were able to give, her appendix was set to burst soon if you didn’t do something, so shoes were the least of either of your worries.
You set off driving, placing your phone in the holder on your dashboard. It was a miracle it had still been in the pocket of your leggings and not discarded somewhere when you entered the apartment. You wouldn’t have thought to grab it again in the rush to get to the car.
”Hey Siri, call Ellis.” You speak to your phone as you keep your eyes on the road. Every few seconds your eyes flick to the rear view mirror to check in your roommate in the backseat, but aside from that your eyes never leave the road. No point getting into an accident before you make it to the hospital.
”Calling, Ellis.” Siri chimes and the ringer begins to buzz out.
”Come on.” You mumble. “Come on, pick up.”
”Sorry, the person you are trying to call is unable-“
”Siri, hang up.” You all but shout. “Call Shen.”
”Calling, Shen.” Your phone began to ring again on the dash board. You weren’t particularly religious, but in that moment you prayed to anyone you could think of that somebody would pick up. On the third ring the call connected.
”Hey Tiger, what’s up?” Shen’s voice filled the car. It was a stupid nickname really. On your second night shift rotation as an intern you’d squared up to a notoriously stern cardio doctor, the shouting match had been heard throughout the ER. The incident had landed you the nickname Tiger and needless to say it had stuck around in the years since.
”Look, Shen, I’m on my way into the ER with my roommate; query appendicitis. She’s in a bad way, thing feels ripe to burst. I’m gonna pull up in the ambulance bay, so can you have someone ready to bring her in? We’re about six minutes out.” You ramble off as you concentrate on driving.
”Shit, yeah. Okay. We’ll be standing by.”
”Okay, thank you. See you in a few.”
”See you soon.” Shen hung up the phone then, and the car was silent once again.
As promised Shen was waiting with Ellis and a gurney when you barreled into the ambulance bay. You had the where with all to pull up as close to the wall as you could get so that any incoming ambulances would not be impeded by your car, and you wouldn’t have to move it straight away. You stumbled out of the drivers seat whilst Shen and Ellis pulled open the back seat and dragged your roommate out onto the gurney.
”How long has she been like this?” Ellis enquired.
”I’m not sure. She was on the couch like this when I got home about fifteen, twenty minutes ago. She was fine when I left this morning, so anywhere within the twelve hour range.”
”Right, let’s get her inside.” She nodded, taking hold of one side of the rails to guide the gurney inside. You follow behind them as they march through the ambulance bay doors.
”Jack, what’s open?” Shen shouted as you stepped inside the ED, the air con basting against your cool skin from above. A shiver ripped through you and goosebumps marbled your skin at the sudden change in temperature.
”South 15’s free. What’ve we got?” Jack Abbot asked. You reel off your roommates name and age as you walk through the ED, as well as the reason you had brought her in. Jack looked at you then. Your face was still on your roommates, so you did not see the way his eyes cast down to your chest and quickly averted again when he realised what he’d just seen. The silhouette of two nipple piercings poking through your skin tight gym top.
Your roommate was put onto morphine, and labs were sent off to confirm a diagnosis. Just as you assumed, it was in fact appendicitis. She would be taken up to surgery for an appendectomy as soon as an OR was free. You were sitting by her bedside. Jack stepped into the room.
”Any news from surgery?” You asked him. His eyes could not find yours, they instead landed on the monitors by your friend's bed.
”Come on, walk with me and I’ll fill you in.” Jack smiled. You weren’t sure why you needed to leave the room, but regardless you stood from your chair and followed him as he walked through the ward. “Surgery said they should be able to take her within the hour, so they’re going to come down soon and get her prepped and take her upstairs.” He filled you in. He had walked you over to the lockers on the opposite side of the ED.
”That’s good. I wasn’t expecting such a quick turn around if I’m honest.” You sighed. “Where are you taking me?” You asked as he stopped by the row of lockers.
”Sorry, I just needed to grab something.” He smiled half heartedly. “Yeah, they’ve not been too busy tonight so your friend got lucky.” You watched as he punched in the code to his locker and retrieved a fleece jacket from inside. Oh, okay. Fair enough. The ED was a busy place and speaking to you was as good a time as any to retrieve something he needed. “Here.” He pushed the fleece towards you. You were confused. Why was he giving you his jacket?
”Thank you?” You questioned. “Sorry, what’s this for?” You took the jacket from his hand regardless.
”You, um.” He stumbled over his words. “Sorry, you just look cold wearing that.” You see the way his eyes flick downwards. In a second you follow them and realisation sets in. You took your bra off when you got home. You took your bra off, and you're wearing a skin tight gym top. You’re wearing a gym top that leaves nothing to the imagination in the ER where the air con is always blasting and now your nipples and the piercings attached to them are practically jutting out for the entire ward to see.
”Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” Your arms come up to cover your chest as your face blazes bright red. In an attempt to save your dignity you swivel around on the spot to face away from the night shift attending.
”You came in in a rush. I don’t think anyone will hold it against you.” He chuckles as you pull the fleece on and zip it up to the neck.
————————————————
Jack absolutely should not have been thinking about you. He should not have been thinking about the piercings beneath your shirt and the way he craved to see them outside of the confines of your shirt. It was wholly inappropriate, but every time he closed his eyes in the days following all he could see was the outline of those pretty buds, and the tantalising metal that lay across them.
Jack Abbot was not a believer in love at first sight, and you were a testament to that. You were someone who had snuck up on him. Quietly, slowly, until one day he realised that his whole world was orbiting around you and he couldn’t pinpoint when his center of gravity had shifted. He barely noticed you in the beginning. An R1 doing a compulsory night shift rotation. He’d traded his last intern off to the day shift for the month and gotten you as replacement, the same way he did every year. You were just another intern. If he noticed you at all it was in the way he noticed all of the interns who wandered onto his shift. He noticed the way your sleep was out of sync when you first began, the way you stumbled over your first few ‘weird and wonderful’ night shift cases as he liked to call them, the ones that truly took a minute to become desensitised to because how on earth had somebody done something so stupid? You were just another intern, barely on his radar outside of somebody to monitor and keep a steady eye on.
It was during your R2 year that you really began to register to him. You’d asked to switch over to the night shift for a period of time. Jack quickly found out that your mother was ill and your family needed the help at home whilst your father worked so you had agreed to switch to nights so that you could help back home in the day. It was slightly concerning to him, he had no idea when you slept, but you seemed to make it work. There were no tell tale signs of burn out, or that you weren’t getting enough sleep. So he let it slide, and if he gave you the easier cases to work on during your stint there then who was he to mention it? All too soon though you had become a part of his day, an integral part of the team. Your laugh across the ED could light up his mood, your childlike wonder at medical mysteries was infectious, and your poise in the face of ‘sensitive cases’ became a reference point he instilled in all his future interns. You were like a beacon of summer sunshine in the cold dark of the night shift, and you’d crept up on him like the first rays of morning.
Jack’s feelings towards you were a secret to nobody except yourself, something the rest of his team took great pleasure in ribbing him about. Something they were able to do quite easily now that you were firmly back on the day shift. Which was how they’d ended up here. Only two hours earlier he’d been talking to you by your locker, him just arriving and you on your way out, two passing ships in the night. That was how all of his shifts began now. A quick conversation about your shift, how the day had been, what your plans were for the rest of the night, and on occasion how your mothers health was holding up. He only got you in glimpses these days, and pined after you for the duration of his shift until your steady presence was back with him at hand over the next morning.
~~~
Ellis had a bad habit of leaving her phone on the nurses station. Jack had warned her multiple times that one of these days it was going to get stolen, but still every night without fail he would see it sitting there. He’d been in Trauma 2 with a nasty MVC accident. The patient was on their way up to surgery and he was tossing his gloves into the bin by the doors as he sauntered back over to the nurses station. He already knew the buzzing phone on the desk would be hers. The ringing died before he got to it though, oh well. Ellis could deal with whatever it was during their next lull. Except then another phone was ringing, from somewhere to his left. A coincidence surely.
”Hey Tigar. What’s up?” Shen spoke. Jack’s head turned. What were you calling Shen for in the middle of his shift? His eyes met Shen’s and he raised an eyebrow in an inquisitive manner, what could he say? Jack was nosy.
”Shit, yeah. Okay. We’ll be standing by.” Shen sighed. Jack waited for him to hang up before he spoke.
”Everything okay? Was that-“ His voice trailed off. If something was wrong with you, he didn’t want to think about it.
”She’s fine old man, chill. She’s bringing a friend in, recons it’s appendicitis. Says they’re about five minutes out.”
”Right.” Jack tried for nonchalant. “I’ll see what’s open. Grab Ellis and be ready when she gets here.”
”Yes boss.” Shen chuckled, shaking his head and wondering off. The tension left Jack’s shoulders then. It was okay. It wasn’t you who was ill or hurt. That put his mind at ease some as he found Lena and made sure there was a room ready on standby for when you got here.
”Jack, what’s open?” Shen shouted as he and Ellis reemerged into the ED, gurney in hand and you trailing behind. He had been trying to catch up on his charting, and desperately trying not to think about the fact that you would be walking through those doors any minute. Now here you were.
”South 15’s free.” He called out to them as he jogged over. “What’ve we got?” Doctor mode. Be the attending, he reminded himself. He could talk to you when they’d cleared your friend. It was only natural that his eyes would fall on you as you spoke. That is what we do when somebody is speaking. We look at them. What wasn’t natural was the way his eyes scanned down. Down to the stretchy nylon of your shirt that hugged your curves in all the right places, and in a cruel twist of fate showed off perfectly one asset of yours that Jack was not aware you possessed. There on either side of your chest, two little bars of metal that were poking through the soft fabric of your shirt. His breath hitched just a fraction. Ellis caught him. Of course she did. A smirk plastered on her face as his eyes met hers. Oh they were going to rip him a new one for this. Jack just grimaced and carried on walking.
~~~
“All I’m saying is that if there was a betting board on this, then that is not where I would have placed my money.” Jack heard Ellis laugh as he walked back over to the nurses station half an hour later. The labs had come back on your roommate and the diagnosis confirmed. They were now just waiting for a surgery slot to open up so that they could get her upstairs. She was stable for now and on morphine, so it was just a waiting game at this point. Jack had left you by her bedside. You were off shift, but he knew you’d want to keep an eye on her vitals whilst you waited.
”What are you two nattering about?” Jack sighed as he slumped down in his chair. Ellis was currently gossiping away to Bridget instead of charting or picking up patients. He ought to scold her for it, but the night had been pretty tame so he’ll let it slide just this once.
”Oh, just the pretty hardware your favourite resident is sporting.” Ellis smirked. “I know you spotted them too.” He didn’t need to look at her to know she was wearing a Cheshire Cat grin right now.
”I have no clue what you’re on about.” He mumbled as he typed in his work up for a patient he barely remembered the name of.
”Oh come on, cap! I know you saw them. Hell I think half the ER could have spotted those. I just never pegged our little tiger to be a piercings girl. Especially-“
”Okay.” Jack cut her off. He’d heard enough. “This conversation is wholly inappropriate to be having right now, and plus I think your labs are back on your patient in central 8. So why don’t you go follow up with that and leave the poor girl alone.” He pushed the chair back away from the desk and stood up, frustration coursing through him now. “I’m going to go get an ETA on surgery coming down.” He mumbled as he skulked off.
It was jealousy that was running hot through his veins. That wasn’t a mystery to him. The confusing part was jealousy over what? Jealousy that other people had seen them as well? That he hadn’t actually seen them at all, and he probably never would? That now he knew what was sitting there just below your top and he would never actually get to see them, touch them, know what they felt like in his mouth? You had just opened his eyes to a whole host of fantasies he never knew he wanted and he couldn’t have any of them. Now the whole of his team was talking about you, and in a twisted way he wanted this for just himself. He didn’t want them all to know, but he had no claim on you and he never would. Still he didn’t want anybody else to see. So he pulled you from the room and walked you over to his locker whilst he discussed your friend's condition. He had to put a stop to this, stop everybody from looking. They shouldn’t be allowed to look. He tried to keep his voice neutral as he punched in the code to his locker. You were still talking about your roommate, it was endearing how much you cared.
”Here.” Jack pushed his jacket towards you, tried not to think about you wearing something of his. He was just trying to protect your modesty here. You looked between the jacket and him, confused.
”Thank you?” You raised an eyebrow as you took the garment from him. Thumbing the soft fabric in your hand subconsciously. “Sorry, what’s this for?” The realisation hit him then. You didn’t know. Of course you didn’t. In the rush of everything going on you were more focussed on your friend than you were yourself. Of course you hadn’t stopped to consider what you were wearing right now.
”You, um.” He faltered. Jack didn’t want to embarrass you here. He wanted to choose his words carefully. “Sorry, you just look a little cold wearing that.” His eyes betrayed him by flicking downwards again. Grasping one last glimpse of those little metal bars poking through. Your eyes tracked his line of sight, and Jack watched as the look of horror plastered itself across your face.
”Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” It could almost be described as a squeal you let out as your cheeks bloomed bright red and your arms crossed your body to cover your chest. Jack would consider your reaction to be downright adorable if he couldn’t see the embarrassment written on your face. You spun on your heels before pulling his jacket onto your shoulders. He couldn’t hold back the chuckle any longer.
”You came in in a rush. I don’t think anyone will hold it against you.” He tried to soften the blow before you turned back around. God you looked pretty in his clothes
———————————————
Thankfully the rumour mill in the Pitt is ever turning and you only had to endure one snarky comment from Santos the next morning before something else had caught everybody’s attention. And needless to say it wasn’t even a bad comment from her. You had definitely heard worse from the R2 in the almost two years she had been in the ED.
”So, I heard a rumour from Ellis that you came in last night and gave the night shift a bit of a show.” She wiggled her eyebrows as you shoved your bag into your locker.
”Oh my god.” You groaned, dipping your head forward.
”No! I think it’s cool, seriously.” She backtracked. “I’ve been considering getting mine done for a while. I actually wanted your opinion.”
“On whether you should get your nipples pierced?” You asked. This felt like a trap, there had to be a joke coming here.
”Do they hurt? I mean I know they hurt, all piercings hurt obviously. Everybody says that nipples are one of the worst though. So what’s your opinion? Do they hurt?” You couldn’t help but laugh at that.
”Yes, they hurt. The second one hurts more than the first, because you know what to expect. Also don’t make the mistake I did, if you’re going to do it make sure you go when you don’t have anything else to do that day. I got mine on a whim before a six hour waitressing shift and was doubled over in pain the whole time. Those fuckers are sore for a good few days after you get them.” You giggle at the memory.
”Ouch, noted.” Santos grimaced.
”Yeah, that was not a fun shift. Also I was on with my creepy boss who kept asking me if I was feeling okay, and obviously I couldn’t tell him or he would have made some weird sleazy joke so I had to lie and tell him I had a migraine.”
”Girl, I feel you on the creepy boss.” Santos laughed.
”You best not be talking about me.” Jack smirked as he walked over to his own locker. You tried your best not to let the smile creep onto your face. Now that you weren’t fretting over your roommates health you could enjoy being in Jack’s presence again. To say you were harbouring a crush on the man was putting it lightly. You had been infatuated with him since your first night shift rotation in your R1 year, and your feelings had only steadily grown as you’d gotten to know him better over time.
”Okay, I am outta here.” Santos said before walking away again.
”No. Reminiscing on an old boss I had in college when I was still waitressing.” You chuckle.
”Ah.” He nodded his head “And what led you to that conversation?”
”Oh, Ellis told her about me coming in last night, and my-“ You pursed your lips and looked down. “-awkward wardrobe choice.”
”Hmm.” He hummed.
”She was grilling me about them, asking if they hurt to get. I was telling her not to make the same mistake I did and get them on a whim before a shift.” You filled him in.
”Well I think most people could have told you that.” He shook his head.
”What can I say? I was nineteen and kinda stupid.” You giggle. “Oh! I have your jacket by the way.”
”Nah, you can keep it. I think it shrunk in the wash, it fits you better than it does me.” The statement could have made you laugh, the jacket was visibly too big on you, with sleeves that needed to be pushed up over your hands and a hemline that fell around your thighs.
”Are you sure?” You asked, now holding it in your hand.
”Yeah, it’s yours.” And well, he didn’t need to tell you twice.
~~~
Three weeks later and your roommate was back to full health. You both had the day off work, and you had planned to go out that night to celebrate her newly removed appendix and her making partner at the law firm she worked for. She had tried to play the achievement down, citing that it was only a non-equity partnership and not full equity but that didn’t matter to you. It was still a huge milestone for her, plus you had no clue what the difference was anyway. In the end you compromised on going out for drinks at a local bar and keeping it ‘lowkey’.
You had been riffling through your wardrobe for a good fifteen minutes trying to find something to wear and you had come up empty handed. Who knew you actually needed more clothes than just hospital scrubs and old sweatpants and hoodies? Evidently, you didn’t.
”Hey!” You shouted through the paper thin wall of your bedroom. “Can I raid your closet for a top to wear?” You stood in the middle of your room and waited.
”Yeah, babe. Just come in!” She shouted back and you made your way over. You entered her room wearing just a brown leather mini skirt and your bra. “Is that the skirt you’re wearing?” She asked from where she was sitting on the floor in front of her mirror.
”Yeah, I never get a chance to wear it.” You nod.
”I think I have a top that will go perfectly with it actually.” She scrambled off the floor and began rummaging through her wardrobe trying to find the aforementioned top. With a gasp she turned around and presented to you a burgundy halter top with a plunging neckline. That was actually perfect. You took the top from her and threw it on. “Yeah, no, the bra’s coming off, you look like a middle schooler who can’t dress themselves.” She laughed as she gave you a once over.
”What do you mean?” You pouted looking in the mirror.
”You can’t wear a halter neck and have your bra straps out. Anyway your tits are nice! Show off those piercings.” She ribbed you. You considered it for a moment before conceding.
”Fine, whatever.”
The bar you had agreed to go to was about a ten minute walk away from your apartment. Which puts it about half way between your apartment and the hospital. That was fine, it was a Saturday night which meant that most of the people you worked with would be on shift tonight anyway, and the younger day shift group never came to this bar. They preferred to go out to clubs when they went out. The place wasn’t overly busy when you arrived, but it was lively. It took you a minute to find a free booth and sit down, your roommate leaving you there so that she could go and get you drinks. That was when you saw him. Sitting two booths away from you was Jack Abbot, with whom you could only assume were a few of his SWAT buddies.
”Oh, you’re joking.” You groaned and hid your head in your arms.
”What? What’s going on?” She asked as she slid in across from you.
”Behind you, two booths over. My fucking boss.” You hiss.
”No way!” Her eyes lit up. “Which one? The hot one you’re pining after or the other one?” You looked up just long enough to glare at her.
”Not the other one.” You huff. She cackles at that, catching Jack’s attention who looks over the shoulder of the people sitting between you and catches your eye. You flash him a courtesy smile and look back at your friend. “I hate you so much.”
Needless to say, the top you’d borrowed was drawing a lot of attention towards you. With its low cut that showed off your cleavage and your piercings that proudly pressed against the clinging fabric, it was definitely gaining you a lot of unwanted attention as you walked back and forth to the bar each time you needed a new drink. Namely the skeezy looking guy who was sitting across from you at the bar, and seemed to have no issue with just openly staring every time you went up there. It was making your skin crawl. The worst part of it all, you had reached the point in the night when you really wanted to go outside for a smoke. You couldn’t risk him following you out there, and you didn’t want to give up your seats if your roommate came with you. You were stuck at an impasse. Just as luck would have it though at that moment you saw Jack getting up and heading towards the bar.
”I’ll be back in a minute. I'm going out for a smoke.” You tell your friend and head towards the other end of the bar where Jack is standing waiting to be served.
”Hey. Sorry, I know you’re with people, and this is kind of a weird question, but will you come outside with me whilst I have a smoke?” You place a hand on Jack’s arm. “That guy down there has been staring at me all night, kinda giving me the creeps really, and I don’t want him to follow me outside if I go on my own.” You chuckle awkwardly.
”Why doesn’t your friend go with you?” He asked, eyeing your friend who was still sat in the booth.
”I don’t want us losing our seats.” You shrug. “Please?” You tack on looking up at him through your lashes. He just smiles at you.
”Yeah, sure, come on.” Jack’s hand came to rest on your lower back as he guided through the bar and towards the door. A quick glance over at your roommate as you passed and you shot you an obnoxiously oversized wink. She was teetering on the edge between tipsy and drunk, you were going to have to cut her off soon, but first you were going to enjoy this unexpected turn of events.
”Thank you.” You spoke first, back against the brick wall, cigarette dangling precariously from your bottom lip as you fished your lighter out of your purse.
”Well, I couldn’t let some creepy guy follow you out here and try and harass you. Especially when you look like that.” You don’t miss the way his eyes flick down to your chest. It took everything in you not to fold your arms across them, the cool night air was surely only exasperating the problem. You knew you shouldn’t have taken your bra off, straps be damned.
“Oh, god.” You groan, breathing out the plume of smoke that had settled in your lungs. ”This is the second time in a month you’ve seen me like this. I really hope you don’t think I make it a habit to go around braless in public.” You giggle. The alcohol was loosening your senses, making you bolder.
”You could make a habit of it if you wanted.” He shrugged in that flirty tone he sometimes used with patients. “I mean I don’t mind, but maybe not at work.” His eyes had gone dark, pupils dilating in the dark to almost completely cover the hazel you loved so much.
”Yeah?” You breathed quietly, taking a very sudden interest in flicking the ash off of the end of your smoke. You heard him take a step closer to you.
”Personally, I think you should get rid of every bra you own. Just never wear one again.” He was right in front of you, shoes almost touching. Your eyes were still on the ground.
”I mean that’s certainly one way to improve patient satisfaction scores.” You tried to joke. The sound of his laugh reverberated through you. “I think you might be a little bit drunk, Dr Abbot.” You finally looked up at him. His hand came to hold your waist, fingers pressed delicately against the sliver of skin between your top and skirt, as he ducked his head down to your ear.
”I’ve only had two beers.” His voice was low, it sent a shudder through you. His hand trailed up and down your side. “Can I?” He asked. You weren’t sure exactly what he was asking but you nodded all the same. He could do whatever he wanted. His other hand joined the first on the opposite side of your waist, both now trailing upwards until they were cupping the swell of your breasts. Your breath hitched. His eyes had never left yours. “Yeah?” He nodded at you, checking in.
”Yeah.” Having been given the go ahead his hands moved again, still cupped in place his thumbs moved to caress over your nipples. Still over your top, ever the gentleman, but you knew he could feel them and the metal beneath.
”I don’t think I have stopped thinking about these since you came into the ER that night.” He mumbled, as though he were more thinking aloud than talking to you at all. The sensation was feather light but your head tipped backwards against the wall nonetheless. The cigarette in your hand fell to the floor, half smoked and long forgotten now. “I had to give you my jacket because it was pissing me off that everybody else was getting to see them as well.”
”I can still give you that back if you want?” Your voice was breathy.
”No. I like seeing you wear my clothes. I want to see you wear it every morning when you come into work.” His face was against your neck now, speaking the words into the soft skin beneath your ear. He placed a tentative kiss there, then another and another, trailing down your throat, hands still firmly in place gave a light squeeze. The sensation kickstarted your brain, reminded you that you had hands of your own that could move or more correctly could move his. You placed your hand over his, picking it up and sliding it into your shirt, giving the go ahead for him to have a better feel. “Jesus Christ.” He groaned as he finally got to touch. The soft nub of your nipple contrasting the hard metal that stuck through it. His head dropped onto your shoulder, body fully slotted against your own, your own hands now grasping at the sides of his shirt keeping him there.
The sound of somebody clearing their throat to the left of you startled you to your senses. You and Jack turned your heads at the same time to find your roommate standing there awkwardly.
”I think I’m gonna call it a night and head back home. You don’t have to leave if you’re um, busy, but I’m going to head back.” She said, trying not to look at Jack, whose hand had thankfully left your boob, but was now kissing your neck again. The man really had no shame.
”Um, yeah. Okay” You gripped at Jack’s waist, he was making it really hard to think. “How are you getting home?”
”I’ll walk, it's ten minutes from here.” She rolled her eyes.
”No. Get a cab. If you’re going back without me I want to know you’re safe.” The logical part of you took over. You had seen far too many drunken accidents on walks back from bars and clubs come through the ED.
”Okay, fine.” She pulled her phone out and ordered an Uber. You turned your attention back to Jack.
”Wait. Stop, just stop a second.” You squeezed his sides to make him stop his trail of kisses and nips. His eyes found yours. “Let me make sure she gets in a cab okay.” You pressed your lips to his ear. “And then how about you take me home with you and I’ll let you see these for real.” The grin that spread across his face was worth a million bucks.
Empathy is the heartbeat of connection. It's he ability to feel alongside others, to hold space for pain, joy, fear. But when someone becomes hyper-attuned to emotions, they might begin to use that insight as leverage. What began as compassion shifts into subtle control. They know what others fear, need, or hope for. Then, they exploit it, nudging choices and reactions under the guise of care. The warmth of empathy cools into quiet manipulation, wrapped in smiles and soft voices.
✧ Intuition → Paranoia or Presumption
Intuition is powerful. It guides, warns, and illuminates. But when someone relies too heavily on gut instinct, they may stop seeking context or clarity. They begin to assume intentions, predict betrayals, or treat hunches as fact. What once helped them understand unspoken truths now drives wedges between them and others. Intuition becomes a filter that distorts rather than reveals.
✧ Bravery → Recklessness
True courage inspires others. It faces fear while acknowledging the cost. But courage without wisdom can spiral into recklessness. The brave character begins to leap before looking, refusing help, or seeking danger not to help others but to prove something. Worse, they may sacrifice themselves repeatedly in ways that seem noble but are fueled by guilt, ego, or escapism. What once protected others now isolates or endangers them.
✧ Uniqueness → Alienation or Superiority
Being different is a gift -- a perspective the world needs. But when a character’s uniqueness becomes their identity, it can harden into alienation or quiet arrogance. They begin to believe no one can truly understand them. Or worse, that others are too ordinary to matter. They stop connecting, start dismissing. Their individuality, once empowering, becomes a lonely throne.
✧ Honesty → Weaponized Truth
Honesty builds trust, clarity, and integrity. But when honesty becomes detached from compassion, it cuts instead of connects. The character may justify harsh words as "just being real" or “telling it like it is,” ignoring the emotional wreckage left behind. What began as transparency turns into a shield for cruelty. Truth without tact becomes a blade.
✧ Optimism → Denial
Optimism sees hope in hardship, light in shadows. But relentless positivity can blind someone to real danger or silence the pain of others. The character insists everything will work out, even when it won’t. They dismiss warnings, ignore wounds, or refuse to acknowledge their own struggle. What started as radiant hope becomes denial in disguise, robbing others of permission to feel.
✧ Loyalty → Loss of Self
Loyalty is sacred. It anchors trust and sustains love. But loyalty without discernment can turn into self-erasure. A character might defend the wrong people, tolerate mistreatment, or silence their conscience -- all in the name of loyalty. They stay, even when it hurts. They follow, even when it breaks them. What began as devotion becomes a chain.
✧ Humanity → Overwhelm or Emotional Collapse
To be deeply human is to feel joy, rage, sorrow, wonder -- all fully. But a character might become so open to the world's weight that they drown in it. They struggle to regulate emotions, internalizing every injustice or heartache. Their humanity is profound, but it becomes unsustainable. Their openness turns into fragility, and their emotional world consumes them.
✧ Altruism → Disintegration of Boundaries
The altruist gives freely, loves fiercely, and seeks nothing in return. But when they give too much without limits, they fade from themselves. They neglect rest, silence their needs, and begin to believe that self-worth is earned only through sacrifice. Eventually, others begin to rely on them, but never truly see them. Their selflessness becomes a slow disappearance.
The Guardians of Camoria by A.A. Walker
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Neurodivergent assassin who very casually uses their weapons as stim.
Turning on and off the safety of their gun. Tapping and spinning their dagger. Watching the poison in the vial move as they flip in and then back.
Nobody says anything because...well they're an assassin.
Turns on safety, presses trigger, turns off safety repeat.
People around them are in constant fear.
Chewing the end of their poison tipped dagger when they try to figure out a plan.
Wash their hands too much cause they don't like how sticky blood is.
However overtime it becomes a weird single to others.
Everyone is anxious trying to figure something out and they hear a little "click click" and it's just slightly calming to know that they have this person there and they are thinking of a plan.
Someone hands them a drink but it flows just a little too weird and they are like, "hmm that's poison" then chuck it because they have built up immunity.
No table that doesn't have something carved into it.
Never a situation where they don't have enough bullets because this person takes out the cartridge and puts it back as stim.
They take apart their guns and put them back over time being crazy fast and efficient with it.
