Dog Tags raced through the sky towards the area that the help signal seemed to come from. Back at Canterlot, there was a 911 call from someone needing help out in the woods. Dog Tags and a few more officers were sent out to find the victim and bring him back for medical assistance.
Dog Tags is an olive Pegasus with patches of emerald on his body. He's covered in scars from past injuries and his mane and tail were different shades of brown. His eyes are lovely blue-green, which fits his body color quite well.
Shining Armor warned them about flying today, for it was extra windy and the slightest turbulence could send one of them crashing down. They took heed and brought extra Pegasi with them in case. However, that wasn't enough.
When they were flying above the forest where the injured party believed to be, a sudden gust of wind hit Dog Tags and he lost control. He flapped his wings to get back into the proper flight position, but that just sped up his descent towards the ground. He braced himself before crashing into a pine tree.
Dog Tags hit his head and were almost knocked out. He attempted to fly back up, but a searing pain in his wings made him wince and fall back down onto a branch. He yelled when he started tumbling down the tree, which made his comrades fly down to save him. He finally hit the ground, and he probably had multiple broken bones, especially in his wings. He couldn't bring his neck up to check his wings because his neck hurt whenever he moved. Is my neck broken? He thought. Horse apples. He could hear the flapping of his companions' wings; making some of his worries fade away. When the others landed, he could feel the air from their beating brush against him.
"Dog Tags! Hey, hang in there!"
"He doesn't look too good. Someone's gotta carry him."
Dog Tags blacked out.
.*°~.:*..*~°.*°~
Dog Tags didn't know who brought him back, where he was, or what was wrong with his wings.
Looking around, he assumed he was in a hospital room. He's been in them many times before. There was a window to his far right and a table next to his bed. On his left was a pink curtain, blocking out anything on the other side of it, and a door.
There was an IV in right arm, bandages around his left arm and leg, and he couldn't close his wings because of something around the base of them.
He laid down, which was hard because of his open wings, and sighed. A few seconds later, his door opened and an Earth pony walked in. He was wearing a doctor's coat that read "Dr. Camo" and around his neck was a stethoscope. The pony was grass-colored with dark green patches and had brown hair like Dog Tags. The only difference between them was the doctor's mane only covered the top of his head (Dog Tags' mane was long and went down to his shoulder blades) and his brown eyes.
"Hello Dog Tags." He said as he walked over to the bed. "How are you feeling?"
Dog Tags lifted up his good 'arm' and placed it to his head. "My head hurts and I'm confused."
The doctor smiled. "I could imagine."
"Is my neck broken?"
Dr. Camo shook his head. "No, no, of course not. You're just sore."
"Oh." Dog Tags was listening, but he couldn't get over how handsome his doctor was. He could feel his face heating up quickly. "Um…"
"You should probably get some sleep." Dr. Camo had a concerned look in his eyes. "Your neck should feel better after a good rest."
"Thanks, doc."
"Oh, and another thing…" the pony intern glanced over towards the pink curtains. "Keep it down a little. There's another patient sharing your room."
And just as quickly as he came in, the MD left Dog Tags room without another word, stopping only to shut the lights off.
Taking Dr. Camo's advice, Dog Tags laid his head down on the pillows, covered himself with his blanket, and shut his eyes. He tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in, but just couldn't go to sleep, no matter how hard he tried. He kept thinking about his doctor. That Camo pony wouldn't leave his head. Dog Tags groaned and placed his face into the pillows. For a moment, he didn't think about anything. He only listened to the well-known sounds of hospital rooms. The beeping of heart monitors, the nurses in the hallways rolling food carts… Yep. He had heard the sounds before. Nothing new.
Then he heard his doctor's voice outside the door. His eyes opened wide and he tried to hear over the sound of the heart monitor on the other side of the curtain. He put his head up to watch the door even though he could only see the shadows of the ponies seeping in under it.
"Is my patient asleep?"
Another voice: a nurse's. "He looked like he was sleeping, but I think he was having trouble."
"Ah, I see. I think I should check on him."
"Just be extra quiet."
Dog Tags didn't have time to lay his head down on the pillow because Dr. Camo walked in too quickly for him to react. Dr. Camo trotted over to his bedside and turned on the small, fat lamp that was sat on the table. When Dog Tags saw Dr. Camo's face he was looking at him sympathetically. "Now, Dog Tags, you shouldn't be up. You know that, right?"
Dog Tags nodded, then explained in a whisper, "but I've tried all night to fall asleep, doc! Just too much on my mind lately."
"Oh, and what is troubling you?"
I can't tell him that I was thinking of him! Dog Tags thought. What do I say?
"Um…" Dog Tags avoided eye contact and suddenly other objects in the room became interesting. "I was just thinking of the victim I was supposed to rescue. Were they okay?"
"Yes. Two of your colleagues carried you to this hospital while the rest went to save the victim. You were horribly injured. Thankfully, they got you here just in time. When they brought you in, you were a scary sight. Two of your legs, a rib, and both of your wings were broken. We could tell you were in need of urgent assistance so we brought you into the ER and bandaged your legs and wings up. A few bones had fallen out of their sockets, so we just popped those back in. It's amazing how much you've recovered."
"I got all of that from just running into a tree?" Dog Tags asked to no one in particular.
"Yes. Quite strange isn't it? The world is a dangerous place, especially for pegasi for some odd reason."
Just talking to his doctor made Dog Tags much more tired. He yawned and Dr. Camo took this as a sign to leave. "Ah, I can see you're tired now. I guess I should leave so you can get some rest for your injured wings."
As much Dog Tags wanted Dr. Camo to stay, he agreed that he was exhausted and wanted some shut-eye. He shut off the lamp and as Dr. Camo was walking out he yelled a hush "Wait!"
"Hm?" Dr. Camo looked behind him.
Dog Tags blushed a bit, thankful it was dark. "Thanks for checking on me."
Dr. Camo smiled, nodded a silent "you're welcome", and walked out of the room. He closed the door with his teeth quietly and began to walk down the hallway. The unicorn nurse from earlier saw him and sauntered over to him. "How is the patient?"
"He should be sleeping easier now."
"Did you give him pills?" She asked curiously.
"No. Just a simple conversation can ease the mind and put it to rest."
She just stared at him numbly as he continued his stroll down the hall, not fully realizing what he meant.
.*°~.:*..*~°.*°~
The sound of blue jays and robins outside his window woke Dog Tags from his slumber. He was slightly bewildered at first, but slowly regained his senses. A dry, snotty taste in his mouth urged him some to drink some water. As he drank from the cup, he checked the time.
The clock read 9:36.
He placed a half-empty glass down on the table. He knew the time; just what day was it now?
He attempted to solve the mystery of what day it was by trying to remember when he came in. But he couldn't remember how long he's been in the hospital. Was it one or two days? He hit the sides of his head in an attempt to make the cogs in his head start turning, to no avail. Instead of bringing him all this trouble to make his head even sorer, he just decided to ask.
He waited, and waited, and waited. No one came in. He could hear the frantic clopping of hooves outside of his room, which made him curious. He got out of the hospital bed carefully and peeked his head outside of the door. He saw multiple doctors and nurses galloping around hysterically, each one with the same panic-stricken expression. The only things they were saying were "where is he?" "Where did he go?" Who the hey was "he"? Was it a patient?
Dog Tags wandered out of the security of his room, clad in only a light blue hospital gown and limping. He barely walked two feet when somepony ran into him suddenly. They both groaned when they hit the cold, white floor of the hospital. When Dog Tags opened his eyes, he was surprised when he saw whom he ran into. Dr. Camo.
A few nurses quickly ran over to help them up, only to start running around wildly again.
"Dog Tags! What are you doing out of your room?"
"I was just-"
"No, no," he shook his head, "it would be easier if we talked inside your room."
The doctor pushed him through the door with his head before shutting the door behind him. He turned around and they stared at each other a few minutes; Dog Tags sitting on his flank and Dr. Camo looking down at him angrily. Finally, the intern spoke. "I would like an explanation as to why you were out of your bed." He said sternly.
"I was waiting for someone to come in so I could ask them a question, but nopony came in. I could hear them running around in the hall, and I got curious. I got out of the bed because I was curious, sir!" He straightened his spine, but Dog Tags suddenly realized that he was talking to his doctor and not his superior. When he did, his spine relaxed.
Dr. Camo glared down at him for only a few seconds before sighing and smiling. "Still so proper." He sat down on his rump. "I've got nothing to worry about."
"Um, if I may ask… what's going on out there?"
"One of our more… concerning patients escaped."
"Concerning?"
"You know…" He made a twirling motion with his hoof while placing it next to his temple. "She's loopy. Her name is Screw Loose after all."
"Oh. What does she look like?"
Dr. Camo placed a hoof to chin, thinking. "I think she's a light cornflower blue, with a light bluish-gray mane. If you're going out there, be careful with your wings. They're still healing." Dog Tags looked at his wings, a few feathers were out of place from when he fell onto the floor, but nothing else was out of place. Dr. Camo unexpectedly trotted over and evened out the feathers with his hoof, making sure the wings looked normal. Dog Tags looked at him confused, wondering what he was doing. Dr. Camo blushed immediately and backed up and laughed nervously. Dog Tags saw him sweating, and looked at him concerned.
Dr. Camo's eyes darted from side-to-side panicky. "Ha, I wasn't doing anything important. Just evening out your wings… heh."
Dog Tags knew what was going on, but he let it slide. "Whatever." As he reached for the handle, he could hear Dr. Camo breathe a sigh of relief.
.*°~.:*..*~°.*°~
It was now 10:11 p.m., but they still couldn't find Screw Loose. The pony had simply disappeared. Many patients like Dog Tags have also gotten out of their beds to look for the psychotic patient, and Dog Tags wondered why. Did they want to go back to eating that terrible green gook they called food? He thought this was much more exciting, a thrilling—almost fun—change from the normal routine. He wished the missing pony would stay missing a little while longer.
The nurses and doctors sent the patients back to their beds, some of them noticeably disappointed as they were walked back to their rooms. Dog Tags was also one of those people, Dr. Camo had walked him back to his room. He left a few minutes after leaving him in the safety of his temporary bedroom, trusting Dog Tags with getting into bed and falling asleep. Dog Tags slept well that night.
When Dr. Camo came to check on him like he did the night before, he saw Dog Tags laid down on the bed asleep without a blanket. The poor Pegasus was shivering from the lack of warmth. Dr. Camo quickly shut the nearby window prior to pulling the blanket over the trembling officer. Dog Tags soon stopped shivering. Dr. Camo brushed strands of hair out of the sleeping pony's face and smiled at him tenderly. Before taking his leave, the doctor nuzzled the resting Pegasus's snout with his own lovingly, blushing as he did so.
.*°~.:*..*~°.*°~
The next day around 12:00, Dog Tags was met with disappointing news. Not only was Screw Loose found last night after a female Pegasus was caught stealing a book (really? A book?), he was leaving later today. He had gotten used to the hospital. He actually wanted to stay. Sure he's been here many times before, and the food was crud, but this time was different. He met a pony who could quite possibly be the love of his life. He didn't want to leave him behind. He didn't want to leave Dr. Camo behind. Either he confesses his love, or he leaves brokenhearted.
How did I heal so quickly? He thought. My bones healed in practically 48 hours. That's not possible! He felt his eyes tearing up and his throat started burning. This isn't fair. This isn't fair!
He couldn't hold in his crying and ended up bawling into his pillow. No one heard him. He felt so alone. He soon cried himself to sleep, his hoof still gripping the pillow.
About an hour after he fell asleep, a nurse came in and saw Dog Tags sleeping. She saw the wet pillow and got a bit concerned. She called in Camo, who walked in and asked her to leave. She obeyed and now it was only Dog Tags and he (the patient who was sharing the room checked out).
He shook the miserable Pegasus, waking him from his slumber. Dog Tags woke up and sniffled. When he saw his doctor looking down at him with worried brown eyes his pupils dilated. When Dog Tags backed away in his bed, Dr. Camo reached up and caught him in a tight hug. The doctor started to cry into his ear, and Dog Tags returned the hug, also crying.
Even though he was sobbing as much as Dog Tags, he tried to get the other to calm down by whispering. "Shh, shh… It's all right, Dog Tags." He rubbed his patient's back comfortingly, and the crying soon turned into mere sniffling. They parted. "I'm right here."
"But you soon won't be! You're going to leave me!"
"I'm not going anywhere, Dog Tags."
"Yes, you a-"
Dr. Camo placed his hooves on each side of his patient's face and brought it forward to touch his. When their lips connected, Dog Tags' eyes widened and made a surprised whimper. But his shock went away and his eyes closed shut. His entire body warmed up from the kiss, and he could feel the heat radiating from his doctor's face. They finally parted and looked at each other.
"I'm not leaving you, Dog Tags. I love you."
Dog Tags smiled as happy tears ran down his face. "Me too." They kissed again, and arranged when and where to meet up again.
"When are you free?"
The MD thought, "only on the weekends."
Dog Tags smiled. "Hey, that's great! I'm only free on the weekends, too! What about your address?"
"I'll go print it out."
Dr. Camo left the room to go print out his personal information while Dog Tags sat and rested. He walked over to the window and saw some birds sitting out on the windowsill. He opened the window, and pet one of the bird's feathers. "I would fly with you, but my wings are broken." The birds didn't realize they were talked to and flew away.
Dog Tags heard a creak and he raced over to the door, Dr. Camo walking in holding a piece of paper in mouth. Dog Tags took the paper and placed it over on the side table where he would remember it. The two talked for a few more minutes before Dr. Camo had to leave to take of some more patients. Dog Tags stayed in the room, looking over the paper a few times and talking to the birds, who never really listened.
Finally, Dog Tags packed up his stuff and was ready to leave the moment the nurse said he had to go. He walked out happily. Sure he would have to wait another week for his wings to heal, but at least he could walk, limp even. And besides, his wings will be all better when he sees Dr. Camo again.
Going to the hospital has its perks.
