Hope

(Modern AU: ER Nurse Cass)

A/N: Today was a very difficult shift so... Here's something I was inspired to write as a way to release stress. Please don't read if you're sensitive to what's going on now in 2020. Thank you.

PS. All characters are over the age of 21 with the exception of Evie and Catalina who are under 18. Thank you!

Her brain was numb as she walked down the hall. Her blood pounding in her ears. The Director of Nursing and Charge Nurse of Corona General had issued an official statement. Co-Vid 19. It was here- and it had already claimed its first few victims. Uncle Monty never stood a chance. Cass inhaled sharply as tears began to form in her eyes. She wiped them away quickly. As she neared her apartment, she heard a door two doors down begin to open, and she cursed softly.

"Stay where you are!" She warned, and the door stopped. Once her emotions were under control, she looked up to see Varian, Rapunzel, Eugene, Lance, Adira, Evie and Catalina staring at her with a worried glance.
"Cass…" Rapunzel's soft voice broke through the silence, causing her to flinch. "Is it… true?"

Cassandra glanced over at the governor's daughter, her best friend, and nodded. "We need to stay six feet away from each other- or at least from me. Your father's going to issue a quarantine. I know I can't keep you all from meeting at your place, Raps, but I can't join. Not for a while…"

"Cassie…" Varian began to walk towards her.

"Haven't you been listening!?" She yelled, causing him to freeze. "You have to stay away from me. I… I'm not safe right now." She added in a softer tone at the pained look on her boyfriend's face. She knew he meant well, he was as large hearted as Raps, but in any case… "Eugene." She turned to her frenemy, the peacock of the group. His face was resigned, but he knew what she needed. Out of everyone in her group of friends, she hated to admit it, but he knew exactly what she needed.

"Hair-Stripe, Blondie, we need to do as she asks…" Eugene mumbled softly as he gently took a hold of their biceps and pulled them inside. He gave Cassandra a sad look, and softly closed the door- shutting Cass out of their bubble, at least for a while.

That didn't stop her from feeling the cold sting of isolation stab her in the heart.

She gave the door one more wistful look before turning towards her apartment. She quickly unlocked the door and stepped into the darkness. Her hand fumbled for the light switch. Once her path was illuminated, she dropped her keys into the bowl by her door and quickly stripped off her navy-blue scrubs, left her clogs by the door, walked to the pantry and threw them in a plastic bag. She tied the bag tight and proceeded to take it to her bedroom. She dumped the bag into her hamper and shut the lid on tight. She went to the bathroom, grabbing Clorox wipes and gloves, removed a few wipes from the container, and returned to the front door where she began to scrub at her clogs for four minutes. Satisfied, she left them, sole facing up, beside the door. Once that was taken care of, she grabbed a can of Lysol that sat on the table by the door and left a trail of antibacterial spray behind her as she ran to her bathroom.

The water in her shower was hot, her skin red and raw as she scrubbed herself clean- scrubbing away the day. Her eyes watered as she thought of Uncle Monty- Atilla would have to run the sweets shop without him. It wouldn't be the same. Cass had been going to Uncle Monty for sweets with her dad since she was four. It was the first place the Captain of the Corona PD had taken her once the adoption was final. Monty had smiled, congratulated her, and had told her to come by any time for a sweet. He always had a sweet waiting for her after school, a smile, and a warm hug. That's how she wanted to remember him. Not the image that flashed through her mind. She clutched her hands to her chest- they tingled with the ghostly presence of his sternum- cracked beneath her palms as she broke his ribs to bring him back. The commanding voices of the physicians and respiratory therapist as they tried to intubate, the quickfire orders as she injected him with medications when she rotated out of CPR. She shook her head. No one should have looked so pale, so broken, so...gone.

She let out a sob and fell to her knees, curling into herself as the hot water rained onto her exposed back. She had lost patient's before, and it hurt every time, but this was personal. She wanted to share it with the group, to have some support, at least from Raps, but she couldn't risk it. And they'd find out soon enough. She let herself cry a few more seconds before composing herself and washing her face with the shower's spray. Once she was sure she was clean, she stepped out of the shower and into a fluffy blue towel and made her way to her bedroom to change into a t-shirt and shorts.

In her haste to throw her scrubs in the dirty bin, she had forgotten to un-mute her phone. Sixteen missed calls, twenty text messages, and ten voicemails. With a heavy sigh, she scrolled through the messages and voicemails. She ignored the ones from her friends- at least for now and began with one of the more important people in her life.

"Hi dad." She lay herself down on her bed and sighed.

"Cass, are you okay?" Kade asked. His voice was tired, mournful. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Yes, dad. I'm fine." She replied, her voice strong- everything she wasn't at that moment. "I'm used to it." She lied. "Anyway… I just wanted to call to let you know I can't come visit you anymore, at least for a while. You should also stay at home and not go out unless you have to."

"I heard." He replied in a tired tone. "The Mayor just announced it."

"I see…" She inhaled sharply. "Dad… take care of yourself, OK? I love you. I'm tired. I'll… call you tomorrow. Okay?

"Sure. I love you too, Cassandra." He said softly, "Stay safe."

"I will…" She closed her eyes and let her phone drop onto her comforter… She felt her phone vibrate, but she left it alone. She didn't want to be bothered right now.

Twenty minutes later- as she was falling asleep, she heard a knock at the door. Brow raised, she got up and went to investigate. As she looked through the peep hole, she saw nothing there.

"What the hell?" She muttered under her breath as she opened the door. What she found surprised her. A cardboard plate with three slices of pepperoni pizza, a steaming mug of cocoa with marshmallow's and whipped cream, a cupcake with pink frosting and a cherry on top, and a note. She knelt down and opened the note. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she skimmed each section her friends had written for her. The message clear. "We're here for you."

"Ahem!" Someone down the hall called, and Cass couldn't help but roll her eyes with a small smile.

"Varian, I thought I-" she paused at the scene before her. The door was open- everyone huddled in the doorway, sitting as close as they could. Pizza, cocoa, and a cupcake in front of them.

"You said you couldn't be with us in here. You said we had to keep our distance. I think we're pretty much clear with the rules." Eugene smirked,

"Just because you have to stay away from us for a while, doesn't mean we can't see you, Cass." Varian said softly as he smiled in her direction.

"We love you, Cass, and we are all here for you." Rapunzel opened her arms and let them close in front of her. "Imagine I'm giving you a big hug!"

Cass couldn't help but laugh- her heart warming with the love her friends had for her.

"Yeah, and I'll do my best to stay away- even though it will be hard." Varian sighed dramatically. Cass released a low laugh as she smiled warmly at him.
"I'll make it up to you when this is all over, babe." She replied, locking eyes with Varian- sharing a tender moment between them before turning her attention to everyone else. "To all of you. Thank you."

"No need to thank us, short hair." Adira smiled as she chewed on her cupcake. "Just what friends do. Now eat up and get used to this being a thing every meal-time."

Cass blinked in surprise, staring at them. "What?"

"Oh, yeah, that's the thing, Cassie." Varian grinned impishly. "We know how you get when you are alone with your thoughts too long, so… with everything going on- it's not fair that you're getting the short end of the stick. So, until this all blows over-, we've decided we're going to have dinner like this on day's that you work."
"And when you don't work." Rapunzel added.

Cass turned away from her friends, the emotional implication overwhelming her. She felt tears she had forbidden to fall trickle down her cheeks. She wiped them away quickly.

"It's okay to cry, Cass." Eugene said softly from the doorway.

"I know. Doesn't mean I like it." Cass muttered, once composed and turned back to her friends. A large grin on her face. "Anyway, I'm hungry. Are we going to eat?" The emotional hurricane was still present, but for now, she wanted to focus on the kindness of her friends. She'd worry about everything else later. As Varian had once told her, she had to take every day one step at a time. So, for now, she would sit in her doorway, 6 feet away from her friends, and enjoy her crazy dinner, and appreciate each moment that she could. When they finally found out about Uncle Monty, she would return the favor and offer her help- however she could. She would keep them safe. She swore to herself as she bit into her second slice of pizza and smiled at the antics between Varian, Eugene, and Lance. The women on the other side of the hall rolling their eyes at their father/significant other. The scene heartwarming enough- that she, for the first time that day, had hope they'd make it through, and everything would be okay.