Who needs Sustenance? ((Ben))

[Maribeth Grayson]

Nothing has ever reminded Maribeth more of a bee hive than St. Mungo's Hospital. She was fully aware that hospitals were rarely quiet, and if they were, something big was happening or was about to happen. But, this day just seemed endless. The time was almost on nine o'clock and Mar didn't have time for lunch or dinner yet today. Waking up at one, when Mar was set to arrive at St. Mungo's for her first way at two, was not the best sleeping plan for her. After an piece of toast and a bottle of water, she was out the door. It has been over seven hours since she last had something in her. Her stomach was growing, almost yelling for sustenance, as she tried to listen to the heart beat of a patient in the waiting room. Squatting down, her lime green robe folded below her on the floor. For her first day, her resident set her and her group of inters to the waiting room to pick their bidding with walk-ins. After the first few hours, tables and beds started to fill up all too quickly. Resorting to doing examinations in the waiting room, Maribeth bit through the confined space. A baby was bawling behind her as she pulled her white and silver stethoscope out from her ears and wrapped it around her neck. "You seem all better, Mr. Treption. Just go get this paper signed by the receptionist at the window." Maribeth pointed over her shoulder down the hall to where a long line waited to speak to the receptionist. Before he could say anything about the line, Mar turned around to tend to the baby wrapped up in it's mother's arms. "Hi, can I help you out?" Maribeth asked the mother. "What's his name?" she went on, as the mother took the covering off her son.

Boils filled with green and yellow pus cloaked the child's skin completely, doubling the child's size. The child screamed as the warmth from the blanket was removed letting in the cold hospital air to touch the boils. "His name is Cody...I..I.. I don't know what it is, or what could have caused it.." The mother spoke instantaneously in between screams. Scooping the child up, with the towel wrapped around it. Mar cradled the baby and blurted out, "Ah.. Excuse me, 'mam. You need to come with me, imedeatly..." as she pushed her way through the crowd to the main hospital hallway. Beds lined the walls with curtains drawn and also opened. Looking for an empty bed, thoughts about bubotuber filled her mind. Boils... slugs... contagious... outside... water. "How long as he been like this?' Mar asked the mother who trailed behind her scratching the back of her neck in nervousness. "A day or so... I suppose two." She said without certainty in her voice. Walking without a destination seemed to be what Mar was achieving as she turned left at the corner. Not a bed in sight was free as light green robed people crossed her looking at her wondering what she was going to do with a crying baby in her arms, and a lost mother following her. Finally, two curtains down, was an open bed in sight. "Miss, Lay down. Cody will be ok. Just lay down." "Why, why do I have to lay down? Cody is the one sick!" The mother exclaimed as Mar placed the child in the sink. "Please, you need to lay down..." Mar was cut off as her resident walked into the room.

"Dr. Grayson, update please?" a tall dark haired man said as he pulled the curtain behind him for privacy from the on looking healers. Looking to her resident her eyes darted back between the screaming baby, the frantic mother, and her boss standing in front of her asking for an explanation of her actions. "Sir, The child has bubotuber..." she spoke as she turned to the baby, Cody, and stripped him of his blanket. "And I think the mother has it on her neck..." Tossing the blanket into the waste basket beside her. As soon as Maribeth made this accusation, her resident checked the back of the mother's neck. Spoken in a concentrated tone her resident asked, "And how are you going to solve this spreading dilemma?" Mar took out her wand and pointed it at the mother as her arms are quickly shot down comfortably to her lap. "First, I will restrain the patients so that it can not spread much father." She spoke as if she reading a book from the back of her mind. Pointing her wand to a cabinet across the room she picked out a large glass bottle from the top shelf. "Next I will use a high antiseptic astringent to dilute in water to bathe the child. Since diluted bubotuber turns into a liquid cure for acne." As Mar opened up the bottle, she pointed her wand at the bottom drain, as water soon seemed to fill up the basin. Pouring about 4 tablespoons of the foggy astringent into the water, which stopped filling up at the middle of the basin. Setting the bottle aside, she picked up Cody under his arms and dipped his foot into the water. Steam sizzled from the foot as it touched water. Cody's cries subsided as the warmth from the water was an unexpected comfort. Taking his foot out of the water, she showed her resident that the once boils on the foot were now gone.

After about half an hour healing Cody and his mother of bubotuber boils, Maribeth allowed the two to leave the hospital with a check up in two days. Pulling the curtain back so that the mother could walk out, Maribeth watched as the two found their way out of the hospital. "Good work Grayson." her resident spoke as he tossed his gloves away in the waste basket. "You're just like your mother. You suspect the unexpected." He finished with a brief nod as he pushed his way past her through the curtain. Standing for a moment, she looked at the curtain in disbelief. How many times in one day was she going to be compared to her mother?! First, by the chief who went out of his way to visit her in the waiting room in the beginning of her shift. Now, by her own resident. Her mother was never in her life as she grew up, how could she be like her mother if she did not even know 'how- her- mother- was'?

After cleaning up the room and herself, Maribeth was told to go on a break. Now, sitting in the cafeteria, she pushed around the last remaining fries that sat on her plate. Mixing them with ketchup she stared aimlessly around the room. A few noted inters were sitting in booths conversing with other people from their group. Most looking for sustenance, some harty information they gathered on their first day of their internship. Some were studying, obviously under stress from their own resident giving them hell for not being on their toes. The few Residents and Head- Healers that were in the cafeteria sat in their own groups. Maribeth, sat alone, bumping around her fires making up for extra time, since she ate her meal quickly due to the mass amount of hunger that she was under for the last few hours. Not paying attention she heard a voice close to her speak. Staring at her fries she blinked and looked up beside her...

[Ben O'Leary]

The hustle and bustle of the lunchroom made Ben very nervous. He hadn't quite learned the ins and outs of how to quickly get through the serving center where people zoomed to and fro as they gathered food and then proceeded to the counter where they used their wand to tap a wand-reading machine that could identify who the wand belonged to and then magically deduct the whatever total was that the attendant would add up for their food. At this point, only having gathered an apple, a bowl of soup that was slowly turning somewhat green and unappealing, and a bottle of water, Ben decided he was tired of trying to squeeze in and out of the busy lines to bother finding anything else to add to his lunch. He reminded himself that he needed to start packing a lunch and brining it with him, instead of wasting his money on undesirable lunches such as this one. Of course, knowing his own forgetfulness, he was lucky if he remembered to stock his own cupboards at home. Living next to Heidi was nice in this aspect though, as she frequently had him over for dinner when she would cook more than what was needed for she and Maria.

Fumbling with the items in his hand and spilling a bit of the soup on the counter as he approached the check out attendant, Ben apologized quickly before tapping his wand and dashing off before the line of impatient people behind him started to fuss. Stepping into the dining area, he was disappointed to see that it was just as hectic, people at every table sharing rushed conversations about the latest cases. Hospital life was quite the buzz, and Ben often felt as though he was having a tough time adjusting to it all. Nonetheless, he pressed on, carrying the two things that had brought him this far: a smile and a spirit of determination.

Wandering not far from where he had observed the busy dining hall, Ben noticed a girl who was younger like himself sitting at a table alone. She must've been an intern too, he concluded, and so he quickly approached and sat down across from her without bothering to ask her permission. Likely, she would either say no, he would mumble on like an idiot, or she would say nothing and simply nod for him to join her because she didn't feel like turning him away. But, perhaps she was kind, though he still decided just sitting and trying to get out of the crazy place as quick as possible might be his best bet. She seemed like she was finished for the most part anyways, which meant she could simply leave if he had annoyed her with his presence.

Once sitting, he wasn't even sure if the girl had noticed his presence right away. Still, he lowered his head to try to get a glimpse of her or make some sort of eye contact. "Hello," he finally greeted her. "I'm Ben... or, um... Dr. O'Leary." He had yet to get used to introducing himself as a doctor. In reality, he much preferred Ben, but in the Healing field, it was proper to be professional. "I hope you don't mind my joining you. There were no open seats and this place is somewhat intimidating." He cracked a small smile, hoping that the girl would appreciate the humor in his statement.

[Maribeth Grayson]

A man with longer grown hair sat in front of her as Maribeth swallowed a fry in her mouth. He looked about Mar's age, but slightly younger, due to the fact he didn't have any facial hair like most meant would wear at their age. He seemed a bit confused, yet proud of himself as he sat down at Maribeth's table. Looking at him with narrowed eyes she reached for her drink. Lifting the straw up to her thin lips, she sipped it lightly, while still looking at the opposing man across from her. He quickly introduced himself. Pausing for a moment after the introduction Maribeth gathered many thoughts in her mind. He must be an intern. He stuttered. It was kind of funny. You should smile. You're not smiling.... A grin crossed her face as she placed her cup down. "I'm Maribeth. Or Dr. Grayson... eh... either." She said in her low tone of voice as she fittled through her titles. She enjoyed Maribeth as how she was addressed, because Grayson seemed to remind everyone of her mother, and she didn't want that bearing down on her every waking moment. "So nice of you to just sit down and join me, Ben." She noted sarcastically. "Do you just drop in often?" She asked with serious look on her face as it slowly changed into a coy smile. She knew that there was not many other free places to sit, but Mar enjoyed the abrupt drop in by a complete stranger.

Fumbling with another fry, she dipped it into the remaining bit of ketchup. Feeling full, for once in several hours she placed her napkin on her plate. "So, How has your first day of being an intern been?" Mar asked as she sat back looking at Ben. She could tell he wasn't the most organized of all interns but hey, he sat down and Mar was open for casual banter. He never introduced himself as an intern, but Mar just went on with conversation because she knew she was right. Maribeth had yet to make any friends yet. She never really opted to make friends at work. Her group was already upset with her since she got the group punished, yet getting punished was the best thing to happen so far that day.

Waiting for Ben's response, Mar went on about her day when he was through. "Eh... I woke up late. Nearly missed being sorted into groups, which I actually probably would have enjoyed better than being in the waiting room all day." Her eye's rolled as she folded her arms at ease at her chest. The waiting room was the last place anyone wanted to be, intern or not intern alike. Everyone knew it was not the most fun place to be. Having walk-ins complaining about the most absurd things that could easily be fixed with some common sense, and rarely- very rarely actual patients who needed serious attention. She knew that she was being punished for showing up so close to sorting time. So, her entire group got the full punishment as well. Although, no one in her group spoke to her, she still enjoyed the action she got from her patients, especially her last one.

Maribeth's stomach rumbled as if yearning for more food. Rubbing her palm on her forehead she closed her eyes. She seemed a bit dizzy from not eating or drinking for the majority of the day. Picking up her drink again, she sipped the straw finishing her water. "That shows me to not wake up late again." Taking out her wand she pointed it at her now empty cup. Filling it back up, she pocketed her wand instantaneously as she picked up the cup with her opposite hand and began to drink again. The lighting of the cafe was bright. The industrial lights hung from the ceiling were fluorescent bulbs. Those exact lights put a aura on the cafe like it was apart of a hospital, not a cafeteria. Not such a pleasant retreat when you needed one. Looking to her right, there was a wall full of windows that looked out into back tables for meals in the day time as well as a quick travel through wings of St. Mungo's. Sidewalk lamps glimmered through the night as Mar's eyes traced the sidewalks. She had yet had time to wander through and around the hospital. She knew what each floor's requirement was, but had yet to see each one. But she mentally noted, the outdoors looked as if it was the easiest way to transfer from the east to the west wing of the hospital, without getting in the way of on comming hallway traffic. Maribeth had quite a bit of time left on her break, and figured it would be a good time to take a walk around the hospital.

[Ben O'Leary]

“Maribeth. That’s a pretty name,” Ben said, failing to stay consistent with the use of the title of doctor. If she had introduced herself as Maribeth, then he would stick to calling her that until she told him to do otherwise. Ben unscrewed the lid of his water and downed half the bottle. The long shifts of working as a healer sometimes meant that one’s own hunger or thirst had to wait. Today, Ben had been so busy and nervous that he hadn’t even realized that he was so thirsty. The cold liquid felt refreshing as it passed down his dry throat. He let out a long sigh of relief as he put the bottle back on the tray and stared at the soup. No longer finding it appetizing, he slid it away from him a bit and grabbed the apple instead, taking a bite as Maribeth commented on him dropping in. “No this is my first time in the... oh... you mean here as in this table. Your table,” he went on, slowly wondering if it had been a bad idea to join Maribeth. Then, her subtle smile indicated that she was only playing with him.

He watched her mess with her food in a manner that suggested she was either full or had lost her appetite about as much as he had when looking at the soup that started to get cold on his tray. After she questioned him about his first day, Maribeth proceeded to tell him about how she was late and caused her group to have to do waiting room duty. He gave an apologetic smile before finishing the bite of apple that was in his mouth and giving her an answer in return. “My day was good,” he started with a nod. It had actually been quite eventless, aside from the fact that he ran into Heidi, his neighbour, finding that she was an intern like him, much to his surprise. “I realized that my next door neighbour is actually an intern here too. Plus, I met this girl that went to the same school as me, Hogwarts, and she seemed to know what she was doing. Though, I can’t say she is very friendly.” Ben rambled on like he normally did, stringing sentences together in such a way that he seemed to express a variety of thoughts all in one fell swoop. “Where did you go to school?” he questioned. Ben was sometimes very forgetful when it came to people and faces. If Maribeth had went to Hogwarts, he was guilty of not realizing it. Though, if that was the case, she hadn’t recognized him, or at least she hadn’t indicated that she had. He tried thinking if he knew anyone by the name of Maribeth. Nothing rang a bell, but then when he thought about her surname, Grayson, something seemed familiar about that. Whatever it was though, Ben couldn’t place his finger on it.

Finishing the last bits of the apple, Ben placed the core on his tray and then finished his water. The small meal, more like a snack, would have to do for now. There was no way he felt like even attempting the soup at this point. It was a waste of money, but he'd rather avoid it at this point than try to get his money's worth of the dreadful looking stuff. He wondered why he even decided to get it, and then remembered it was because the line for the soup had been so short and required little time spent in the busy kitchen area. No wonder the line was so short though. Everyone who wasn't new must have known to avoid it. He felt bad for the patients who didn't have a choice in their meal. They were probably used to the soup though. His thoughts drifting away from the soup, he turned his attention back to Maribeth as she told him about her schooling experience before arriving at St. Mungo's.

[Maribeth Grayson]

Mar looked out the wall of window's. In her mind, she wondered what door was on the opposite side of the grounds, and where did it lead to? Since she had yet to explore the hospital, the inquiry was killing her. If she was going to be working in this hospital day in and day out, she should know where everything leads to, as well as faster routes to certain wings, and empty closets. Her soft eyes got lost in the busy reflection of all the people passing through the cafeteria. Families and Healers a like, searching, worrying, and thinking of millions of things at once. You can notice the feeling of most people in a hospital. However, Healers in the time of duty need to learn how hide it. A dreamer's look crossed Maribeth's face as she watched the whirl of people in the reflection. Soon, Ben spoke of his day. Hearing half words and half mumbles, Maribeth nodded insufficiently to his sentences. Suddenly, a word caught her attention, "Hogwarts?" She spoke as she turned her head back to Ben.

"Really, you went there?" She spoke with a questionable tone. "I went there, too." She said in reply to his soon following question about where she went for schooling. "Yea, I don't remember you." She said with a grin and a short laugh. Maybe that was rude of her to state so bluntly, but oh well- she didn't know him, so why lie and lead him to believe he made an impact on her life, when they obviously lead two separate lives. "What was your house?" she asked as her mind filtered through the old recognizable faces in her mind she passed along the ways of her schooling. In Hogwarts, Maribeth was a Ravenclaw. She was more focused in her studies than meeting people. Yes, along the way she did find some closer friend but none to such a degree she held connections with them years after graduating. She never was one to really connect with people on a level to allow other to know her completely. So, keeping friends wasn't the most important thing on her mind. Keeping busy at home, and reading healer books was her main pass time. Maybe thats why at her age right now, she enjoyed drinking to the degree she did. Since she was not subject to that influence at a young age.

"Grayson!" A deep voice shot from behind her. Giving a look of confusion, she turned around in her seat and saw her Resident. He walked a few steps closed to her and Ben, sitting at their own table. Glancing at Ben, he seemed not to pay attention to the other intern eating with her, and spoke directly to Maribeth with his arms crossed on his chest. "You're done for the night. Go home. Be on time tomorrow. If not, you very well may not make it through this internship..." Pausing after his order he looked at her and Ben for a few seconds. Maribeth responded with a lackful response, "OK." as she raised her eye brows at her resident. He nodded at Ben as he turned around and walked out of the cafeteria. Watching him walk to the door behind Ben, Maribeth shot, "He acts so hard, as if he is stone and can't be broken." She shook her head in her own amusement, "Right..." She finished with a grin as she looked back at Ben to see his reaction to her Resident signaling her out in front of him.

[Ben O'Leary]

Ben was surprised when Maribeth revealed that she went to Hogwarts as well, though by this time the surprises were starting to have less of a surprising effect on him. He wouldn't have really been surprised at all if Headmaster Dumbledore himself walked in and announced himself as the newest attending at St. Mungo's. "Not many people do," Ben said. He wasn't fishing for sympathy. He was simply offering a true statement that might make Maribeth not feel so guilty for not remembering him. Though, that was assuming she might have felt the least bit guilty in the first place. "I was in Hufflepuff. Loyal to the end," he added in a somewhat sarcastic voice. It wasn't that Ben disliked his old house from Hogwarts, but he hated the stereotypes. There was not getting around them though, so he learned to deal with them. "And you were in... wait, don't tell me. Ravenclaw?" It seemed to be a good guess since both Heidi and Julia were Ravenclaws as well. Just one more thing to make Ben the odd man out.

A booming voice interrupted the conversation between Ben and Maribeth, causing Ben to jump a bit. He immediately turned his attention to the intimidating figure who had addressed Maribeth. It was somewhat uncomfortable for Ben to sit and listen to the man talk to Maribeth with a scolding tone, and so he sat quietly, trying to avoid having to make eye contact with either of them. Then, the man left, and Maribeth turned back to Ben. She was smiling just slightly, but Ben still had a blank look of shock on his face. "He seems hard enough to me," Ben admitted. He hated his mistakes being pointed out in front of others. It wasn't a pride thing though as much as it was that he hated feeling embarrassed.

"Wow, our first shift is finally over," he said, looking at his watch and letting out a quick breath of relief. It had been an eventful day, and Ben was happy to have just made it through. Even more, he felt as though he had made two new friends, along with discovering that Heidi, a third friend, would be working with him as well. Maybe this Healing thing wouldn't be so scary after all. "It was nice meeting you, Maribeth," Ben said, figuring that they should both be going. He knew that he could use some sleep at that point, and they both had another shift less than twenty-four hours away. "Perhaps we could do this again sometime?" Ben stood and picked up his tray. Realizing how much it sounded like he was referring to their meal as a date, he added, "I mean, not like a date.... but..." He hated when he put his foot in his mouth. His face started to turn red and Ben looked down, not wanting to make eye contact with Maribeth. "Anyways, I need to get going." Ben smiled up at her and then turned. He took his tray up to the kitchen and then made his way out of the hospital. His first day at St. Mungo's was officially over and despite his feelings of nervousness, Ben couldn't wait to come back for day two.