Janitors Need Love, Too.

 

Chapter 1: The Hospital to the Bar

 

It was a typical Saturday night for the Janitor: leave work early, go to the bar, drink with Cox and complain about Dorian. That’s when a girl, no older than twenty-seven or twenty-eight, stumbled into the Janitor and collapsed. He grabbed her around the waist before she fell to the ground.

Great, he thought, some stupid twenty-something that can’t hold her liquor; just what I need right now. He looked at the paleness of her face and knew something was wrong.

“Hey, Cox,” he called out. “I think there is something seriously wrong with this girl.”

“Obviously,” Cox grumbled, walking over from his car. “She’s in your arms.” He looked at the color of her skin, took her pulse, checked if she had a fever, cringed, and pulled out his phone to call an ambulance.

She groaned and opened her eyes.

“Uh, hi,” The Janitor managed to say.

“It hurts,” she groaned.

The Janitor did his best to shift her around while muttering ‘sorry’.

“No, no,” she weakly shook her head and pointed to her right side. “My appendix. I think it’s going to explode.”

“The other guy is calling an ambulance.”

She nodded, “My insurance card and my ID are in my back pocket.”

Cox jogged back over. “An ambulance is on its way. What’s your name?”

“Sarah,” she replied as the Janitor handed Cox her wallet. The sound of the sirens started to drown out the sounds from the bar.

Cox nodded, “We’re going to take real good care of ya, Sarah.”

 

The next day, the Janitor saw that Sarah was in the hospital, asleep in a bed. He paused at her door, glanced around to see if any of the other nonmedical staff were around, and walked over to Dr Cox. “How’s she doing?”

“Ms  Miles?” He glanced at the Janitor. “Why do you care, Jumpsuit?”

“For the last time,” He replied. “It’s a shirt and pants. Who wears a belt with a jumpsuit?”

Cox gave him a look, “You’re avoiding my question.”

“I was just curious about how she was doing.”

“She had her appendix removed and it ruptured right as Gandhi cut in. She’ll be here for a few more days, but she’ll be fine.” The Janitor nodded and continued about his day.

 

Whenever the Janitor passed her room and Sarah was awake, she would acknowledge him, whether it was waving at him, smiling at him, or saying a quick ‘hi’. With her medical knowledge, her politeness to everyone, and her nice personality, she quickly became liked amongst some of the staff, mainly Dorian, Black Doctor, Carla, and Blonde Doctor (Cox tolerated her, but no more than he tolerated other patients). Through eavesdropping on them, the Janitor learned that she was a veterinary technician who moved around a lot and held a lot of different jobs.

Dorian turned to Black Surgeon and asked, “You think she can hook us up with some animals?”

“I dunno,” shrugged Black Surgeon. “She says she fosters dogs.”

Blonde Doctor chimed in, “Oh no! Are they being taken care of since she’s stuck here until the day after tomorrow?”

Carla shook her head, “She said the last one went to a forever home last week. She hasn’t gotten a new foster puppy yet.”

Dorian turned to Black Surgeon, “Let’s go ask her.” As the two went into the patient’s room, Blonde Doctor and Carla turned to the Janitor.

“Rumor has it, you were the one who first helped her,” Carla said.

The Janitor shrugged, “She just ran into me. I honestly thought she was drunk at first.”

“Have you talked to her yet?” Blonde Doctor asked.

“No, why would I? I’m just the Janitor.”

Before Blonde Doctor or Carla could respond, Dorian and Black Surgeon walked back out and Janitor went back to pretending he was cleaning.

“What’d she say?” Blonde Doctor inquired.

Black Surgeon responded, “She told me to ask Carla first.”

“And she lectured me on how a dog is a huge responsibility. That’s even after I told her about Rowdy!”

“JD,” Blond Doctor replied. “You live in a tent.”

Carla agreed, “Plus you and Turk spent most of yesterday pretending to be the World’s Most Giant Doctor!”

“Baby,” Black Surgeon said. “Could we get a dog? Sarah said she would check out dogs to make sure they’re healthy and everything before we get one!”

“No,” she replied as the foursome started to walk away. “Not while we’re trying to have a baby.” The Janitor swept in front of Sarah’s door, a small part of him hoping she’d acknowledge him.

“Hi,” She called out; with the same smile on her face she had whenever she saw him.

“Hi,” he replied, leaning against the door. She opened her mouth to say something else but Kelso interrupted.

“Janitor! There is vomit in the elevator! It smells like pickles and apple juice. Go clean it up!” The Janitor sighed and walked away. He never saw the disappointed look in her eyes as he walked away.

By the time he returned to her room, it was almost time for him to go home. He pretended to wipe down the counters, thinking of something to say, when he noticed that she was not alone. A group of her girl friends were in the room, chatting away with her. The Janitor glanced at his watch. It was time to go home. Tomorrow, his day off, she was going home. It’s not like she really wanted to talk to you anyway, the Janitor thought to himself as he left the hospital. You’re only a janitor.

 

When the Janitor entered the bar one night, a week or two after Sarah visited Sacred Heart, to grab a beer or two, she was there with a group of friends, finishing their drinks. The Janitor walked by with the possible hope of her acknowledging him, as she did at her stay in the hospital, but she didn’t.

Why would she be interested in you? He thought bitterly. You’re just a janitor.

He heard the shuffling of chairs in the area where she was sitting and knew she was leaving.

“Hi,” he heard a perky, feminine voice say in his ear.

He looked over and raised an eyebrow, “Can I help you with something?”

“I just wanted to thank you for helping me that night,” she smiled at him.

He shook his head, “I didn’t do anything.”

“Sure you did,” she said, gently bumping him with her shoulder. “Let me buy you a beer.”

He raised an eyebrow at her again. “Alright.”

“It’s my way of saying thanks,” she replied, flipping her curly light brown hair off her shoulder, “since we never got to talk at the hospital.” She turned to the bartender.  “I’ll have a Sex on the Brain and he can have whatever, I’m paying.”

“I’ll just have another beer,” The Janitor replied. She turned to him, “You sure you just want another beer?”

He nodded. “Beer’s fine. I like beer.”

She shrugged. “Alright; so tell me about yourself.”

He looked her over. “What do you want to know?”

Sarah bumped his shoulder with hers in a playful way, “Whatever you want to tell me.”

“I’m a janitor at a hospital. Why do you care?”

She shrugged, her soft red lips making a slight frown. “I feel that nurses and janitors are some of the most underappreciated people in the medical field.”

“I wouldn’t say I was part of the medical field,” the Janitor smirked at the thought.

“Sure you are,” Sarah replied, looking him in the eye. “Without you, the hospital would be a bigger germ-fest than it already is. I should know.”

“Oh?”

“I was a janitor once, on a part-time basis.”

He chuckled. “You were not; you’re too smart to be a janitor.”

“Thanks, but you’re pretty smart yourself,” she replied, squeezing his thigh. “Intelligence has nothing to do with it though; I worked after-hours at a healthcare clinic to help pay for my schooling.”

“What’d you go to school for?” Though he already knew the answer, the Janitor was definitely intrigued by the young woman, because she was pretty, smart, and actually treated him with respect.

“Vet Technology with a concentration in animal behavior.”

He nodded, “That’s very impressive.”

Sarah shook her head, “Not really. I have a cousin who works for the FBI, another works for NASA, and my dickwad of an ex-boyfriend is in law school.”

The two continued to talk for another hour or two; Sarah tried her best to flirt with him, though she wasn’t sure if he realized she was trying to come onto him or if he wasn’t interested in her. There was really only one way to find out. She drew a breath, “You wanna walk me out?”

He shrugged, “I don’t see why not.”

“Great,” she smiled, her hand grazing his inner thigh as she got up. As they walked into the parking lot, the Janitor glanced around. “Where’s your car?”

“Oh, I walked here,” she replied. “My apartment is just a few blocks away.”

“I can drive you home,” He replied. “It’s dark and this town isn’t always the safest.”

“Aww,” she replied, batting her eyelashes and looping her arms around his right arm. “You’re such a sweet guy.”

“Thanks,” The Janitor replied, looking down. You’re imagining things, he thought. She’s not into you. She’s just a friendly drunk. “Here, let me get the door, it can stick sometimes,” he said as she leaned against the van and looked up at him with big, green eyes.

Just do it, Sarah thought. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him down, so his mouth crashed against hers. She pressed her body against his and ran her fingers through his surprisingly soft brown hair. She wanted him, and wanted him bad.