2019-12-05 - Kneecapped

Zoiya doesn't like hospitals.

That being said, when you get injured, sometimes that's where you have to go. It was a pretty typical Saturday night at the Platinum Cabaret, busy and crowded, but what wasn't typical was Zoiya Mae taking a tumble in her heels and hurting her knee. One of the bouncers was kind enough to give her a ride to the hospital, and after some paperwork and a chat, she now sits in an exam room, glancing around warily as she waits to be seen. She is covered nearly head to toe in ink, and her knee looks like it's seen better days, swollen with the start of a fantastic bruise.

She has her phone out in her hands, and is tapping a text out as she waits, mostly patient.

It's a little while before someone comes -- well, it is a Saturday night, after all. And while Gray Harbor isn't exactly a big town, there always seems to be something happening that requires multiple hospital visits.

Wonder why that is.

However, whatever the reason for that which clearly no one understands because it's a giant mystery for us all, eventually there's a knock on the door, and assuming no one shouts out not to come in, it opens to reveal a man in scrubs made to look like Darth Vader's suit. "Zoiya Molinari?" he asks as he looks down at the chart, and then up to her again to make sure. "Sorry for the wait," he says as he shuts the door behind him. "What's going on tonight?" He smiles, setting the chart aside and taking a seat on the rolling stool in the room.

The Darth Vader suit gets a double take. Zoiya looks up from her phone once, and then blinks and glances up again, slower the second time.

She blinks a few more times, sets her phone aide and flashes Lalo a big smile. "I was working tonight, and some .." She takes a deep breath, and clearly edits herself, ".. nice lady decided to use water during her routine and not wipe it up after. The five inch heels didn't appreciate the puddle and down I went." She gestures to her right knee. "I cracked it pretty hard on the floor and I can't really put weight on it. Well, I can, but it results in language that probably will get me in trouble around here." She's wearing a pair of snug black hot pants and a loose 'Platinum Cabaret' tee-shirt. "I don't mind the wait, you should see how many as.. er.. nice people are waiting for lap dances back at work. I thought my boss would go postal when I had to leave." She leans back on her hands, a mischievous smile on her face. "So Darth... are you a doctor?"

The little self-edit gets a snort, but it's an amused snort. That's all the commentary Lalo adds for the moment, though -- mostly, he just listens, resting his forearms on his knees and clasping his hands in front of him. His eyes do move down to her t-shirt when she mentions her work, and while there's no immediate recognition from the name, he can probably put two and two together. When she's through with the retelling, though, one eyebrow raises, and he asks, "You ever been to a hospital before? You aren't gonna say anything I haven't already heard tonight at least twice already."

His smile widens as he reaches over to make a note on the chart, before turning back to her. "Nah," he says with a shake of his head, "A nurse. The doctor'll be in here in a minute. So right now, on a scale of 1 to 10, how's the pain? And how much more when you try to walk on it?" He grabs the pen again to make a note as he waits for her reply.

"I'm a pretty healthy girl, so I've never been to this hospital before. Been a few times in Seattle." Mae shrugs a shoulder, still leaning on her hands as she considers his words, her eyes on her knee. "On a scale from one to ten, while I'm sitting here, I'd give it a three. When I walk on it, probably a six or a seven. Worse in heels." She is wearing sneakers right now. "See, I have to have my five inch heels for work. Barefoot and kitten heels do not get the same kind of tips, you know?" She kicks out her uninjured leg and just misses bumping Lalo, which makes her smirk.

"Do you have a name though?" She leans in, looking for some kind of name tag or the like. The scrubs getting another soft laugh out of her. "I doubt it's broken, I saw a girl break her knee, those are screams that you never forget. I guess the club just wanted to cover its ass by sending me here." She wrinkles her nose, glances toward the door, and then back to Lalo. "Sorry."

Lalo writes down what she's said -- or something else entirely, but probably it's what she said! He does have to nod at the observation about tips, replying, "Yeah, I bet you wouldn't. Maybe that was my problem. My heels weren't high enough." He grins, before he moves forward a little bit to reach for her injured leg, though slow enough that she has some warning. "Lalo," he says. "Darth Lalo is fine, though. And you don't need to be sorry. So far you've been one of my easier patients tonight."

He takes her leg then, starting to move it very gently, first bending, then straightening again. "Let me know when it hurts more," he says as he does so, before he nods. "I'm gonna guess it's just a sprain, too, but they're gonna want to get you an X-ray before you go just to be safe. Might take a little while before you get in there. I'll try to hurry 'em along, but you're gonna want to stay off it for at least a couple days even if it's not a break."

Mae doesn't try to read his notes, at least not at the moment, she's watching him reach for her leg. "Okay Darth Lalo. Nice name." She makes a muted noise when he says she's been one of his easier patients. "Probably because I don't want to be here, so I'm trying to get the fuck .." She winces and squeezes her eyes closed briefly, and it might seem like it's because he's manipulating her leg, but it's not. Not yet at least. "..I'm trying to get out of here, before it gets colder, because I didn't bring the bike to work tonight. Riding a motorcycle in the rain is not fun." She sucks in a quick breath when he bends her legs, shifting on the exam table. "Ow." Beat. "Hurts."

She sighs at the mention of an X-ray and tilts her head down, chin touching her chest. "Couple of days? Hrm. Ubers come here, right? Because if I have to stay off of it, I obviously can't walk home."

"Thanks. It's done pretty well for me so far." Lalo gauges her reactions to what he's doing, his smile fading a little bit into a more thoughtful look -- or at least, that's probably what it is. It makes him look sort of angry, honestly, but he probably just has one of those faces. He nods when she says that it hurts, and he doesn't do too much more of that before he lets go and scoots back again. "Yeah, Ubers come here. I definitely wouldn't want you walking home on that. Unless you live across the street or something, but I feel like I would've already seen you if you did." It's a joke, and brings back the smile that sits easily on his face, chasing away whatever angry look he has in neutral.

"I'm gonna get you something for the pain before the doctor gets in," he continues, his tone moving back to the slightly more brisk and nurse-like one, "and once he's checked you out I'll get you down to Radiology. You allergic to any meds?"

Mae curls her toes when he gets the angry look on her face, shamelessly staring as she tries to figure it out. Then he scoots back, and the joke flies out to chase away that look. "Nah, I live down on Elm for now. Are you saying you'd notice me if I lived across the street? It's the ink, isn't it?" Mae smirks and glances down at her covered arms, hands, fingers and legs. She scoots back a bit, pulling her foot on her non-injured leg up on the table. "Yeah, thanks. I'm pretty good with pain, but if I have to hobble around on this, I'd prefer to have something to key it down a little bit." She makes an assumption, or reacts to what assumptions she's had in the past, holding out both arms to expose the crook of both elbows. "Not a druggie, by the by."

"Not allergic to anything that I know about, and do I get a wheelchair?" The impish smile on her face promises that she's at least thinking of wheelchair races down the hallway. "Uh, thanks Darth. This is appreciated."

If he minds the scrutiny, Lalo doesn't say anything about it. Instead, he replies, "Part of it, yeah." His eyes move to the tattoos as well, though the glance is brief before he looks back up to her. "I feel like I'm probably not the first person to say they'd remember you, though." He holds up his hands when she goes on, however, adding, "Hey, I don't judge. I just dispense. But that being memorable thing would definitely hurt you if you started trying to come in here and scam us for pills all the time." As for the wheelchair, a laugh escapes him. "Of course," he says. "We got a full service joint here." He stands up then, heading for the door. "Hang tight," he says as he exits. "Back in a bit."

And he is back in a bit, after the doctor sees her and says basically the same thing that Lalo had said, only more doctorly, whatever that means. Soon enough, she's got some pills in her and Lalo is wheeling her down for an X-ray. "So," he says as they go, "You all got worker's comp?"

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Mostly at work, which is great for the money part." Mae shrugs, and her eyes settle on Lalo when he speaks, a little bit of her amusement at his words writ on her face. "Check, don't come in and scam you for pills, find a different nurse next time, one without the force." She punctuates that joke with a wry roll of her eyes, grinning to show that she isn't all that serious. "Full service, great. I'll make sure I ask the doctor about getting my oil changed." It's not hard to tell if she's joking or not, there is still a grin on her face. The doctor leaves chuckling so she probably did ask, cheeky as she is.

She is enjoying being pushed around in the wheelchair, peeking into rooms as they head down toward radiology. "I used to watch a soap opera about hospitals, it's not as exciting in the rooms as I figured it might be." She tilts her head back so she can get a look at Lalo. "I don't think we have worker's comp. However, I can lean on my boss and make him pay for this crap if it's too much. He doesn't want me to skip out of his club, though.. there isn't exactly competition here in Gray Harbor, so I'm not sure where he thinks I'm going if I do leave."

"Yeah, it's really not," Lalo confirms as they go. "And not as many people having sex with each other as you'd expect, either. Grey's Anatomy fucking lied to us all." Apparently he doesn't care as much about saying inappropriate things! But hey. He's smiling when she looks up at him, though, which seems to be his natural state when he's thinking about it. "That's good. Maybe he's worried you're gonna hit it big one of these days, Flashdance style. What a feeling, huh?" His smile widens at that, into something that looks kind of goofy, honestly. But considering his Darth Vader scrubs, it's probably not that surprising that he would be making dad jokes.

"I hated that show. I liked ER better." Mae takes a deep breath, relaxing a little when Lalo swears. If he's doing it, it can't be that inappropriate here. "He says I'm the reason people come to his club, and some nights he might not be wrong. I managed to get a following out here, which is weird. Sleepy towns? You expect the men to like, cross stitch or golf or some shit. Nope, in the time I've been here, I've seen some wild and crazy things. Heard some of the same, and think that maybe small towns are a lot freakier than places like New York, Chicago or Seattle." She folds her arms over her chest, smirking. "I've done that bit before, Flashdance? Water is great, but your tips are soggy for at least twelve hours. That sucks some ass." She gestures vaguely toward the man pushing her wheelchair. "You're not that bad, you know that Darth?"

"Uh uh," Lalo says with a shake of his head. "I've been around long enough to know that the small towns are the weirdest. LA? Sure, there's some weird shit, but mostly people are just trying to keep their head down and do their thing." He pauses, before he amends, "Or be, like, an actor or whatever. But small towns are always the places that have the fucked-up haunted houses and unexplainable shit going on. Little Timmy falls down the well and then people hear his voice crying for help for 200 years or something. Gotta be careful." He speaks from experience, clearly. Of course, he does look like he's probably late 30's or early 40's, so he does have more experience than some people! Her last words, though, make him laugh, and he adds, "Thanks. I'll take it. I only look mean."

"I was heading to L.A when I left Chicago. L.A. or Vegas." Mae blinks slowly as she recalls her flight from the windy city. "Somehow though, I ended up in Seattle and then here. Seattle isn't so bad for a stripper, lots of places, some of them classy, to work in. Lots of creeps too." She shifts her eyes to the side when he mentions unexplained shit and stays quiet, which is not normal for her. Instead of delving further into what could possibly be a conversation that takes many corners and falls flat, she changes the subject. "So Darth, how do you feel about waffles?" She waits a beat and then she snickers. "You only looked mean that one time, I think you were mad at my knee, and I can get behind that, I'm pretty pissed off at it right now too."

"Oh, yeah? That's where I'm from. You probably wouldn't've been as memorable there, no offense." All things considered. Lalo doesn't seem to mind when she doesn't go down the creepy rabbit hole with him, though -- he takes the change of subject smoothly, even though it does elicit a laugh. "Waffles?" he asks. "I mean, how can you feel about waffles except that they're fucking delicious and you really can't trust anyone who says they don't like them?"

He might have said something more, but there's a louder laugh at her last words. "Yeah," he says. "I know I got some resting bitch face going on. But I'm not gonna lie, your knee's kind of an asshole though."

"Yeah. I'd have hustled, but I'd be a small fish in a really big pond there. Here? I'm a shark." Mae perks up as he talks about waffles, turning a bit so she can make eye contact that isn't upside down. "You're speaking my language. There is a waffle shoppe here that has the most amazing waffles in it. Crispy edges are the key, and they have great fruit syrup. I'm not much of a maple fan, you understand, too sweet." She goes quiet, fingers tapping on the armrests of the wheelchair, peeking into rooms still, but not as much as when she's invested in conversation. "So you wanna have waffles sometime?"

There is a moment of silence before she glances down at her swollen knee. "My knee is an asshole. It better shape up before next Thursday, because I'm not gonna miss out on a weekend and I'll be damned if I have to bedazzle a knee brace to look good up on stage."

"Oh, yeah? Well, sure. I could use more friends." Lalo grins as he turns her around, pulling her backwards through what must be the doors to radiology. "But I don't know how good of friends we can be if you don't like maple syrup, 'cause that's just wrong, girl." He shakes his head as though he's very disappointed, but he can't quite get rid of the smile completely. As for her assertion, he adds, "I don't know. Maybe you'd get more tips that way. You said so yourself, people here are fucking weird."

Once she's by one of the X-ray machines, he stops, putting the brake on the chair. "You ready?" he asks, and once she's confirmed he starts to help her out of the chair, as much as she needsto get her onto the table. Once she's settled, he says, "All right. Jody's gonna take care of you, and then we'll get you out of here, okay?"

Mae grins back at Lalo, trying to keep from laughing when maple syrup comes up. "It's not wrong, everyone has tastes. Maple is just not one of mine. It's cloying." She glances at her knee, considers a bedazzled knee brace and shakes her head. "Yeah, I'm sure the older guys like a woman who looks like she creaks when she moves." She rolls her eyes and lets Lalo help her to her feet, hobbling over to get settled on the table for her X-ray. "Jody, I hope you're not a cruel taskmaster." She calls out, nodding toward the man in the Darth Vader scrubs. "Thanks. Don't take that wheelchair away, those are my wheels until my Uber gets here."

"Speaking as an older guy, yeah, it sounds hot," Lalo says, though he can't quite keep the laugh out of his voice as he says it. Since he's not that old. "Maybe incorporate a cane or a walker, too. Mix it up a little. I'm just saying." As for her wheelchair, he shakes his head, continuing, "Of course not. That one's got your name on it for the night." Once she's on and settled, he steps back, turning it over to the tech. "Let's see if we can't get you out of here in another two hours, yeah?" He grins in a manner that can really only be described as shit-eating, before he turns away to head out.