Not On My Watch
Not On My Watch
No. Not again. I'm not losing another patient. Nurse Redheart heard the sobs of her patient's friends outside, particularly from the large male unicorn in the center of the group. Her patient's older brother.
"Like hay you're dying on me! Bring me the paddles!" she ordered.
"Yes Ma'am!"
Nurse Redheart noticed with relief that the paddles were already charged. There might be hope after all.
"Clear!" She pressed the paddles down on the young mare's chest. Her body bounced up, but there was no response on the monitor. She got ready to press the paddles down on her patient's chest again. "Listen here you stupid bitch! You're time isn't up until I say it's up! Clear!" Again, Kitty's body bounced, but this time there was a small flutter on the monitor. They had brought her back, but only for a moment. Nurse Redheart shot a glare at Kitty's chest. "Like hay you're dying on me! Beat you stupid mother bucker, beat!"
She would have to apologize later for using such profanity in the operating room. "Clear!" She pressed the paddles down one final time on Kitty's chest. Again, the young mare lurched forward, but this time the monitor showed an erratic heart beat. What mattered to Nurse Redheart and everypony else in the room was that she had a heartbeat. She set the paddles down. She leaned against the wall and began to laugh. The door burst open and Jimmy ran in.
"Nurse, is she going to be alright?" he asked.
"She is now. I wasn't going to let her stay dead." Her expression grew very stern. "She should not be alive right now. If this happens again, it's unlikely she'll survive. She's a VERY lucky mare."
"We're taking time off from touring and recording to put her through rehab. I sincerely hope the prospect of refusing treatment doesn't consider crossing her mind," Scootaloo said as she stepped in the room.
"Scootaloo! So nice to see you here without having to give you medical attention!" Nurse Redheart hoped a joke would lighten the mood. Scootaloo laughed.
"Yeah, I was somewhat of a regular here a while back, wasn't I?"
"Indeed you were. How's that ear?"
"It works," replied Scootaloo.
"It would be working a lot better if you had appreciated my efforts to reattach it."
"Some things are more important Nurse. Besides, you still got paid for your work."
"You know as well as I do that I don't do this for the money, Scootaloo."
"Yeah. I know." Scootaloo looked over at Kitty as she finished her sentence. Jimmy was standing over her.
"Kat... If you died on me..." He rested his head against her shoulder. "We'll help you get better. I promise. No matter what it takes."
Nurse Redheart walked over to Jimmy. She hated herself for what she was about to say, but he deserved the truth.
"Don't think this is over. She's stable, for now. We still don't know how much of the stuff that got her here is left in her system. It's possible that before long her heart could stop again. We won't be able to bring her back twice. And she's not likely to wake up for another couple of hours."
"J-Jimmy? Is that you?"
"Or she could just give a nice little 'buck you' to everything I know about medicine and wake up right now," Nurse Redheart said with a huff. Immediately upon hearing Kitty's voice, everypony in the room shot to her bedside.
"Yeah Kat, it's me," Jimmy said with a sniffle. "I'm right here."
Kitty looked around the room. "What in the hay happened? Why am I in a hospital bed?"
"You overdosed on pain medication you legally should not be in possession of after getting yourself mildly inebriated. If it weren't for Pinkie Pie and her Pinkie Sense, your death would have been a little more permanent. Any questions?" Nurse Redheart was always very blunt with ponies that ended up in her hospital as a result of foolishness. She hoped the "tough love" routine would help convince them that they needed to change something.
"Yeah. What do you mean by 'more permanent'?"
"She means that about five minutes ago your heart stopped." Scootaloo gestured towards the bruises appearing on Kitty's chest from where the paddles had shocked her. "She managed to bring you back to life as a result of years of training, diligence, and a string of profanities that can compete with a pissed off Applejack."
"I... died?" Kitty was having difficulty comprehending the situation.
"Yeah. We lost you there. Nurse Redheart brought you back. Kitty, I'm so glad you made it," Jimmy said, letting tears of joy flow. Kitty noticed Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle wore harder faces than her brother.
"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" she asked. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle didn't need to respond to answer her question. They did anyway.
"Yes you are. As soon as you're out of here you're going to Canterlot. There's a good rehabilitation center there. You're done with those pills." Scootaloo made sure Kitty knew she was serious. Kitty groaned.
"Don't you dare give us that Kat! Do you have any idea how sick we are of looking the other way? You have a problem and you're getting help!" Sweetie Belle was not going to take any crap from her friend.
"I don't have a problem Sweets. I don't need help," Kitty argued. Scootaloo twitched, but, before she could scream at Kat, Jimmy stepped in.
"Kitty, you were dead five minutes ago. DEAD. And it was those damn pills that did it. Don't you ever tell us you don't have a problem."
"But what about-"
"We're going on hiatus until you're clean."
Kitty's eyes widened. "You can't do that! What about-"
"It's already been decided. We'll cancel all of our upcoming shows and refund anypony who bought tickets early. You're getting help whether you like it or not," Jimmy said sternly.
Kitty couldn't argue. She could tell her brother was serious by the fact that he called her by her full first name instead of her nickname. And when Jimmy was serious about something, he was guaranteed to follow through with every word. Deep down she was relieved. The prospect of finally being free from the addiction she refused to face was a wonderful thing, but the thought of living without the release the pills offered was not so pleasing. She lowered her head back to her pillow. Weariness washed over her.
"Alright. I'll do it. For you guys."
"Wow. She's going willingly after all. That'll make this easier," Shepard said.
"And that's the first time you've talked since she woke up. What's wrong, cat got your tongue?" Everypony laughed as Sweetie Belle realized what she said. She laughed as well. Shepard gave a loving glance in Kitty's direction.
"You could say that Sweets."
"I'm REALLY tired right now, but seeing as I don't know when I'll get to say this again, I want you to know that I love you guys." Kitty's eyelids fluttered. Jimmy rested a hoof on her shoulder.
"We love you too Kitty. Now get some sleep."
"Don't have to tell me twice." The room fell silent as Kat drifted off to sleep. The sound of an inflating balloon was heard from the corner of the room.
“WOOHOO! This is the most super duper fabulatastic way last night could have POSSIBLY ended! Well, time for me to open Sugarcube Corner!"
"Hey, Pinkie?"
"Yes Lightning?" Pinkie Pie's face appeared millimeters from Lightning's. Lightning wasn't sure how it had gotten there, but didn't question it.
"Could you please keep this quiet today? We don't want the world to know about her yet."
"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Pinkie Pie performed her age old ritual and bounced happily out of the hospital. Scootaloo walked over to Lightning and rested her head on his shoulder.
"She hasn't aged a day in the last eleven years, has she?" Lightning stated more than asked. Scootaloo laughed.
"No, she really hasn't."
After a half an hour of trying to convince Jimmy to leave his sister's side to get some breakfast, his friends gave up and decided to bring him some takeout. And after drawing straws, it was determined that Sweetie Belle received the task of being the mailmare. As the group of friends split off, Scootaloo and Lightning flew back to their home. Now that they knew their friend would be alright, nothing sounded more appealing than a good nap. It would be a few hours yet before Rainbow and Spitfire got home from work, so they had time to rest up before they went back to the hospital with their family. They landed on their front porch and stepped inside. After a quick breakfast they went to their room and laid in each other's embrace.
"I can't believe we almost lost her," Scootaloo said.
"What matters is that we didn't. Look at the bright side. If she hadn't had that brush with death you guys wouldn't be making her get the help she needs," Lightning said. "Honestly, I think this will turn out to be a good thing."
Scootaloo pondered Lightning's statement.
"I guess the family time the break from touring will provide will be nice as well. It'll be good to be Steel's sister for the first time in a while."
"You've always been his sister." Lightning was confused by Scootaloo's statement. Scootaloo gave him a condescending glance.
"I haven't been around much since the band made it in the music industry. You and I both know I've been more like the distant relative that creepily pops in and out every once in a while than his sister," Scootaloo explained.
"So what are you going to do? How much do you know about him?"
"Well, I know he looks up to you. I was kinda hoping you could help me out a little." Scootaloo sighed and pressed her head into Lightning's chest. "It's kinda sad that I'm asking you to help me connect with my own brother."
Lightning smiled and brought his chin down to meet the back of Scootaloo's head.
"I'd be happy to help you out Scootaloo. But for now I think I'd like some rest. Last night was a long night."
"Yeah, it was. Too long. I'm just glad she's okay."
"We all are. Now let's not dwell on it. Kitty will be there when we visit her tonight."
"She better be," Scootaloo said as she drifted off to sleep. "She better be."
"She WHAT?!" Spitfire screamed. Rainbow's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
"Is she alright?" Rainbow asked.
"Yeah, she's alright. Well, now she is. She died at around six thirty this morning," Scootaloo explained, " but Nurse Redheart managed to bring her back."
"Did I hear you correctly, Scoot? You said she DIED?!" Spitfire was dumbfounded. As far as she knew, when a pony died it was pretty permanent.
"Her heart stopped. After three zaps from those paddle things and a slew of profanity from Nurse Redheart it started again."
"Nurse Redheart... uses profanity?" Rainbow asked. Spitfire facehoofed.
"Really Rainbow? Her friend dies of a drug overdose and gets brought back to life, and you're curious about Nurse Redheart's vocabulary?"
"Well have you heard her curse before?" Rainbow asked. Spitfire facehoofed again.
"As you were saying, Scoot?"
Scootaloo laughed. Her parents were always able to lighten the mood of any situation, even if they weren't intending to.
"She's stable, for now. Nurse Redheart wants to keep her in the hospital for a few days. And after that she's off to Canterlot to get help. We're done letting her do that to herself. Next time she probably won't be able to get to the hospital in time."
"How did she get there in time last night?" Spitfire asked.
"Pinkie Pie. Her Pinkie Sense told her something bad was happening to somepony, and she followed it to Kat's house. She got there just as Kat passed out. According to the nurse, if Pinkie hadn't gotten there when she did Kat wouldn't have made it."
"Oh wow, how's Pinkie holding up?" Rainbow asked. "She doesn't take well to seeing other ponies in rough spots."
"As soon as Kat woke up her mane reinflated and she bounced away to open Sugarcube Corner."
"That mare is so random," Rainbow said with a chuckle.
"I only have one more question," Spitfire started. "If your friend is in the hospital, why in the hay are we still here?"
"Good point. Leave a note for Steel and let's get going," Rainbow added. Spitfire picked up a pen in her mouth and began to write. After the note, which granted full refrigerator access after the completion of a given list of chores, was completed, the three mares flew off to the hospital.
Sweetie Belle carried the bag of food intended for Jimmy in her mouth. She was happy she had the chance to get some alone time with him, despite the fact that she loathed the circumstances of it. She had always had something of a crush on him, but she refused to admit it even to herself. As she got to Kitty's room in the hospital, she pushed open the door. She stepped inside and set the bag down.
"Room service!" Sweetie Belle sang with a grin. Jimmy turned around and gave a weak smile.
"Thanks Sweets. I appreciate it."
Sweetie Belle picked the bag up again and walked over to Jimmy. She sat down next to him and passed him the food.
"Not sure if this is all your favorite stuff, I had to guess." Sweetie Belle gave a sheepish grin and looked down.
"Thanks. I could use some food right now." Jimmy opened the bag and lifted out a small pastry. He raised an eyebrow at Sweetie Belle. "Sugarcube Corner?"
Sweetie Belle blushed and looked more curiously at the floor.
"It was the first thing I saw... If you'd like I can go find you something else." Sweetie Belle turned to see Jimmy happily munching on the pastry.
"You know me too well, Sweets," Jimmy chuckled. Sweetie Belle joined in with a giggle.
"I'd hope so. We've been friends for what, thirteen years now?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Something like that. Well what are you waiting for, Sweets? You aren't gonna let me eat all this myself are you?"
"That was kinda the plan..."
Jimmy pushed the bag to Sweetie Belle.
"Eat something. Just because it's my sister on the bed doesn't mean this is any less stressful for you."
Sweetie Belle looked at her sleeping friend, then down at the bag full of delicious pastries that was at her hooves. She pulled one out and happily wolfed it down.
"That felt good..." Sweetie Belle sighed. She looked over at Jimmy. He was staring sadly at his sister. Sweetie Belle took his hoof in her own and rested her head on his shoulder. Jimmy gladly accepted the comforting gesture.
"I just hope she comes out of this alright," he said sadly. Sweetie Belle shifted her head on his shoulder so she was looking at him.
"She's alive and well, Jimmy. And after we get her the help she needs, we'll never have to worry about this again."
"You so sure, Sweetie Belle?"
Sweetie Belle used her free hoof to turn Jimmy's head so he was facing her.
"Yes, I'm sure. Kat's a tough little bitch. She'll pull through."
Jimmy smiled at the reassurance of his friend. And that she hadn't moved her hoof from his cheek. He wasn't sure if it was the stress of the situation with his sister or the fact that he had been waiting for the opportunity since he woke up with a hangover in her bed, but he was sure Sweetie Belle wasn't expecting it. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Sweetie Belle's eyes shot open, but after a brief moment they gently fluttered closed and she returned the favor.
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I guess no one else made it this far lol. I've read all 3 books and every chapter begining to end. #SUPERFAN
The body is complicated for us humans, there is a great deal of variance for us medically depending on the individual and that variance is likely to be greater in a race that uses magic.