Chapter Text
Another painful, stressful shift at the hospital.
The lop-eared secretary looked completely worn out. His blue ears dragged across the paperwork, and their paw twitched on the edge of the keyboard.
They absolutely hated this desk.
They hated the sterile lights.
Most of all, he hated his own job.
The constant sound of impatient patients ringing the bell nonstop was driving him absolutely crazy. But he couldn’t afford to lose his sanity. After all, the nurses still had patients to treat.
“Jesus Christ… here!” He stamped the form, took a picture of the patient, checked them in, and handed over the printed badge. “There, happy? Now… go away and don’t disturb me…” He wrapped his ears around himself.
The patient scowled and rolled their eyes.
“Took you long enough… Also, how rude!” They scoffed and headed to their specified room.
The lop-eared secretary sighed, looking at another patient continuously ringing the bell. He looked up at the monitor, and there was only one more patient to check in.
He didn’t bother checking the security cameras anymore, he just wanted this to be over with.
…
As soon as they checked the supposedly ‘last patient’ in, he flopped his head against the desk.
“Ughh… I wish they’d just fire me already.” He gripped his ears in annoyance.
Every part of their body just ached with exhaustion. Their limbs felt heavy, and hard to move.
His vision suddenly blurred.
His ears felt like they were packed with cotton.
It was very hard to stay conscious.
But then…
DING!
The coffee from the machine was finally brewed.
The secretary immediately perked up and rushed over to the coffee machine, yanking the mug out of it and quickly chugged it down to the brim. Even though it was piping hot.
Ah… he felt so much better already.
All he needed was a cup of coffee to get him going.
He sharply exhaled in relief, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He leaned against the table, still slightly exhausted.
…
GRROOOWWLLLLL!
Oh no.
Unfortunately, he had accidentally let a mimic into the hospital. His earlier exhaustion had caused him to overlook it.
The nurse yelped and sprinted into the hallway, as a recovering patient’s terrified screams echoed through the ward.
“AAAH! AGENT! AN ANOMALY’S ATTACKING THE PATIENT!” She instantly rushed over to the patient’s room.
The secret agent heard her scream and rushed after her, stunning the anomaly without hesitation before it could brutally kill the patient.
The anomaly growled loudly in pain.
As soon as the anomaly was completely stunned, the patient ran out of the room, screaming and waving their arms around.
“WORST HOSPITAL EVER!!!! NEVER COMING BACK!!!!” They rushed outside, and never came back again. (duh?)
The secretary inhaled sharply and groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“I fucking hate my job.” He shook his head as they placed the mug down, and brewed another cup of coffee. “Screwed it up again for the third time… what the actual hell is wrong with me these days?” He grabbed his collar, carefully fixing it along with brushing the dust off his work suit.
The nurse and the secret agent walked past the office and sat down on the seats next to it.
“Phew… thanks agent for your help earlier… we would’ve lost another patient if it weren’t for you.” She fidgeted with her fingers.
“It’s my job, no need to thank me. But have you noticed that the secretary seems a little more… tired than usual?” They glanced at him.
The nurse looked at him with concern.
“Mhm… I have. It must be pretty exhausting having to deal with checking in the patients all alone, especially when Dr. Harlow had recently installed a second check-in window…”
One of the secretary’s ears perked up.
The agent sighed,
“I’ve offered to help him with checking in the patients plenty of times but I don’t get why he just kept dismissing me and made up excuses like ‘I don’t need your help. Get lost.’ or ‘I can do it on my own.’, stuff like that.”
The secretary raised an eyebrow as he looked over from the office window.
“I can hear you by the way.” He pointed at his ear. “Uh huh. You don’t have to act so mysterious about it.” He scoffed.
As expected… or not…
He got ignored.
Seconds later… the front doors opened.
Dr. Harlow finally arrived.
The nurse immediately noticed him coming in.
“Ah, good evening Dr. Harlow…” She waved slightly.
Dr. Harlow nodded.
“Evening, everyone.” He looked around the room, noticing the knocked off plant pot and the slight blood splatters on the ground. “Did something happen again?”
The nurse chuckled nervously, sweating slightly.
“Well…”
The secret agent sighed, shaking their head.
“Yes, doctor. It happened… again.”
Dr. Harlow looked over at the office where the secretary was tiredly leaning against the wall.
“Third time this week… I suppose today really is the right time to finally have a talk with the secretary.
The nurse and agent exchanged glances, both looking confused and concerned.
“Huh? Did… something come up, doctor?” The nurse asked him with curiosity.
“…Not… exactly. I just need a little talk with him, then I’ll tell you all later.” The doctor fixed his coat and approached the office.
He seemed to notice that the secretary seemed to doze off again.
“Secretary.” He pressed the desk bell, trying to get their attention.
No response.
…
He pressed the bell again…
Still no response.
Dr. Harlow gently tapped the desk and frowned. (I dont think you can see that.. i mean… BRO he’s wearing a fuckass mask??what?)
“That’s not like him…” He pressed the bell one more time… hoping for a reaction.
The secretary started to mumble something out.
“Alright.. alright… checking in…” His ear seemed to twitch. “…Next patient…” He snored out.
“Secretary.” He said in a more stern, and serious tone.
The secretary jolted awake, almost knocking over the coffee machine.
“AH!” His lop ears pointed slightly upwards.
His expression then hardened, after realizing who it was.
Ever since he first got hired, he’s always held an extreme grudge towards Dr. Harlow.
Probably because of the time they had to deal with critical patients from a huge anomaly attack, Dr. Harlow didn’t really do anything but ran off as soon as he warned them about it.
They never really understood how he was even considered as the ‘Doctor’ even though he seemed like he doesn’t exactly do much.
“Hey… doctor…” The secretary’s eye twitched. It was very clear he didn’t wanna have a conversation with him.
“You look tired.” Harlow pointed out.
“Thanks… Captain Obvious. I’m surprised you could even tell.” He yawned, rubbing his eyes. “What do you want..?”
“I just wanted to have a chat with you.” Dr. Harlow paused. “Privately.”
The secretary’s eyes widened. “What?” They stared at him suspiciously. “...You’re joking.”
Dr. Harlow shook his head. “I’m serious…”
The secretary narrowed his eyes and scowled. "UUrhnn... can I at least get another cup of coffee..?"
"Not buying it, secretary. Meet me in the staff room, now. No more excuses." He began walking away, towards the staff room right around the corner.
The secretary raised his hands in defense and sighed dramatically. "Alright, alright! I'll come along… jeez…"
The secretary balanced themselves up, opening the office door and followed Dr. Harlow.
As soon as they both walked inside, the door clicked shut.
…
Silence.
The secretary leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “...Well?”
Dr. Harlow folded his hands around his back.
“Well… you’ve let in an anomaly for the third time this week.” He began counting. “You’ve almost collapsed… twice.”
The secretary nodded.
“Uh huh. Continue.”
…
“You’ve also been hogging the coffee machine.” Dr. Harlow awkwardly said.
“Wow… that’s… that’s another reason why you called me here? Is that all you’re gonna tell me?”
“Well no, that was just an unnecessary thing to add. I just wanna talk about something that I’ve been keeping quiet for a while.” Harlow clasped his hands together.
“Huh…” The secretary stood up straight. “Go on…”
Dr. Harlow cleared his throat. “Secretary… I think it’s time we let you go.”
…
The secretary’s eyes widened.
The room was silent… for a brief moment.
The lop-eared secretary’s ears slowly perked up as his pupils dilated. Instead of looking disappointed, he seemed a little… joyous..?
“You’re… you’re not kidding?” Their cottontail seemed to wag a little. “I’m fired?!”
Dr. Harlow looked confused. “No, I was just—”
The secretary hopped around in joy. “FINALLY! Oh my god… Dr. Harlow. I love you so much. I’ll go pack my things!—”
The doctor seemed a little awkward. He didn’t even get to finish. “Secretary, wait.”
The secretary had already reached the doorknob. “I’m finally free…” He sniffled… dramatically, wiping off a fake tear. “Too bad those losers are still working in this terrible fucking hospital…” He reached for the handle.
Dr. Harlow laid his hand on the secretary’s shoulder. “...I wasn’t finished.”
The secretary froze. “What…?”
“I said, I think it’s time we let you go…” Harlow paused deliberately. “...from working alone.”
The secretary blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You didn’t let me finish.” Another pause. “They’ll be working the second check-in desk.”
The secretary’s smile faltered. For a moment he thought his dreams were finally coming true, but that immediately turned into a nightmare once again. “That’s… that’s it? So, I’m… not fired?”
Dr Harlow shook his head. “No…”
…
“And… when will they be working here?” The secretary asked.
“They’ll be arriving soon, and will be working after our break.”
The secretary froze.
The thought of working with someone else in the office felt like hell… but worse.
“Nooooo… uuughh…” He buried his face into his paws. “Fuuck youuu…” He mumbled to himself. “LISTEN. I don’t need another animal in my office.”
Dr. Harlow hummed to himself.
“You fell asleep standing up.”
“Oh come on, doctor. It was a minor inconvenience that only happened once!” He complained.
“You admitted an anomaly...”
“Jesus… you’re bringing this up again? That was a minor oversight, obviously!”
“For the third time…” He added.
The secretary groaned loudly. “FINE! Now, stop bringing that up or I’ll literally faint. I hate you so much.” They recklessly opened the door, still groaning dramatically as soon as he got outside.
The nurse and secret agent seemed to notice his annoyance.
“What do you think Dr. Harlow told them…?”
“I don’t know, I’d guess he probably expected to be fired. That’s why he looks so pissed off.”
The nurse chuckled softly. “Probably…”
…
The secretary slammed the door to the office shut, grumbling to himself. “Great… this is the WORST shift ever. Screw you Dr. Harlow, you don’t even help us with the patients anyway.” He mumbled out. “Uuurrgnnn….” He gripped his ears tightly in frustration.
They walked over to their desk, pulling the chair out and instantly flopped onto it.
“What am I gonna doooo… we haven’t had another employee ever since the intern got eaten by the bed monster.”
He sat up straight and sighed, glancing around the room. “Could’ve just given it maple syrup. If they knew that, they’d still be alive by now…” He paused for a moment, slightly brushing one of his ears. “I guess I’d say they were the least annoying one out of them all, not gonna lie…”
…
The office door suddenly creaked open.
“Ah— Hello..? Anyone there?” They closed the door behind them.
Their tone sounded… oddly optimistic. And due to that, the secretary didn’t even bother to look up.
“Reception’s closed, come back later.” He seemed a little annoyed by their presence, immediately assuming that they’re a patient.
“Oh, no no! I’m not checking in.” They chuckled nervously. “I, uh… I work here.”
The secretary froze, slowly looking towards their direction.
It was the new employee.
Their fleece was a light purplish color, stubby looking hooves, and carried a box filled with office supplies, sticky notes, pens, and even a tiny little cactus for decoration.
The lamb awkwardly waved at him. “Hello!” They gave a gentle smile.
The lop-eared rabbit… was not amused.
“Hi…” He replied, deadpanly.
The new employee immediately walked over to him, aggressively shaking his paw. “Glad to be working with you from now on! I can’t wait to start my job!”
The secretary blinked, clearly not liking their optimism.
“Yeah… me too.” He slowly slapped their hoof away. “Do you mind? I’m not in the mood for handshakes.” He scowled.
“Oh, I’m so so sorry. I’ll keep that in mind…” They looked around the office. “This office is pretty cool! Umm… do you mind telling me where my workstation is?”
The lop-eared secretary lazily pointed at their seat at the second window. “Right there. Make sure not to hog my place while working here.”
The lamb gave him a thumbs up.
“Got it! Thanks.” They walked over to their designated desk, placing their box of things onto the table. “So… everyone here seems really nice. Is there anything I need to know before we start?” They gently placed their cactus down inbetween the rabbit’s desk and their desk.
“Uh… yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Just the basic things… like… constantly check the cameras, look at the patients’ photos closely and try to spot odd things out, call the secret agent or close the shutters if they’re an anomaly.”
The lamb nodded. “Uh huh… anything else?”
The rabbit secretary slowly pushed the cactus 3 inches away from his desk. “Keep your cactus to yourself. Don’t fuck it up.”
The lamb secretary looked slightly offended. “Hey! Language…”
The rabbit secretary exhaled sharply. “Don’t let that optimism take over. This place is the worst, ever.”
“Well… I don’t really see a problem—“
“You’ve been here for 2 minutes. Give it 3 or more shifts then it’ll kick in.”
The lamb secretary gulped nervously. “Well, I doubt it! I’ve got my emotional support cactus to keep me from going mad! Oh boy, oh boy… I’m so excited to work together! We’ll make a great team!”
The lop-eared rabbit immediately shushed them.
“Hold your horses. Statistically… it’s most unlikely that we’d actually make a great team.”
The lamb smiled. “I like your sense of humor.” They winked playfully.
The rabbit’s eye twitched. “That wasn’t a— You know what… forget it.”
The lamb started to happily water the cactus. “New job… and new co-workers. You’re already my favorite one out of them all.” They gave him a wide grin. “We’re going to be the bestest of friends.”
The rabbit stared at them for several seconds. “I’d rather lose my sanity and go mad.”
The office lights flickered above them.
One smiled, and the other dreaded the worst.
Tonight was just the beginning… well, at least for the lamb.
Neither of them knew how much their lives were about to change.
.
.
.
END