April 19th, 1888 - Corridor Outside Potion and Plant Poisoning
Gerard Banges

If it weren't one thing, it was another in this place. Baxter was a capable man, he'd risen to the director of a major wizarding hospital before his fortieth birthday. Still, he sometimes found himself flustered with the sheer volume of work he did each day. Being head of department was one thing, Baxter had mountains of paperwork on his desk at any given time; that he could handle. This, this was another matter entirely. His daily meetings, check-ins, charity planning, it ate up every minute of his day.

It was bloody brilliant.

Keeping busy was natural for Baxter, he'd spent many years before now as a workaholic, taking work home to fill his time and now he had absolutely no issues. Of course now he was supposed to be cutting back on that, after assuring Odira he would be more social, but that was neither here nor there at the moment. Thatw as after work, this was at work. And now he was off to speak with Ari about a few things.

He rounded the corner to Potion and Plant Poisoning with the intent of seeking out his friend and promptly wound up on his back on the floor, thanks to a very slippery, unknown substance. This was not the first time, but he sincerely hoped it would be the last. Groaning, as he happened to be an old man, Bax sat up and surveyed his current situation with a grimace.

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The following 1 user Likes Baxter Keene's post:1 user Likes Baxter Keene's post
   Benedict Sterling

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I may never actually change this set by MJ

Cleaning up after a hospital often ended up with having a lot of odd and potentially dangerous or unsanitary substances on one's hands, and he felt as if he was the only one working sometimes. Gerard knew he should have put up some warnings as to the slippery substance on the ground. Maybe some sort of sign with a 'caution' written on it or something so people wouldn't fall as much. Now that he thought of it, that could help less accidents happen.

He looked at the man who had fallen, and tried to help him up, "Are you alright, sir?" he looked at him and saw that it was his boss. Well, he thought, now I'm definitely going to be in some trouble. Gerard needed, or at least felt that he needed everyone to like him. Especially his superiors, since he wasn't quite sure who was directly in charge of him.

"I am dreadfully sorry, Mr. Keene." he took his wand out of his pocket and said a spell, attempting to clean the substance up faster. Couldn't have anyone else slipping in it. He didn't know many cleaning spells, but he had his own set that he'd learned specially for the job, from his father or that he already knew from four years of Hogwarts.

  

From his position on the floor, now covered in the slightly pink, sticky substance, Baxter merely closed his eyes and inhaled. There was nothing to be done about it now, no sense in getting angry. As exhaled he heard a voice accompanied by an apology and Bax was greeted by some help getting himself off the floor. Thankfully that meant he didn't have to there any longer, nor navigate exactly how to get up without making a bigger mess f himself.

"Quite alright," Baxter said as he surveyed the damage, now that he was standing. He looked a the young man for a moment, trying desperately the remember his name. Bax was usually pretty good with them, but honestly his head was filled with so much daily that he didn't quite have the memory he used to. Old age, what a pain. "Not the first time, nor I'm sure will it be the last. One thing I don't miss about being in the wards all the time however." There were few things he missed about being directly involved with healing and not running the hospital, but being a constant mess was not one of them.

"Hopefully a good scourgify should do the trick, Mr. Banges." Bax  added, after finally remembering the man's name. "The same cannot be said for these pants however." He chuckled with a shake of his head. Fortunately he hadn't quite kicked the habit of keeping spare clothes hidden in his office for just this reason.

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I may never actually change this set by MJ

Gerard felt a little better as Mr. Keene did not seem to be too miffed by the sticky pink substance. Gerard couldn't even tell what it was, though hopefully it wasn't a bodily fluid of any sort. More like it was melted chewing gum, made oddly pink. The smell was quite pleasant, though. Perhaps a soap spell experiment gone wrong. "Scourgify" he said, cleaning up most of it. He grimaced as he looked at Mr. Keene's pants.

Keeping his eyes on messes could be hard, especially when there was pressing things to do at the same time. Having the boss slip up while he was supposed to be cleaning was especially awful, as he greatly valued both of his jobs. It made him wonder, when Mr. Keene said things about being in the wards, if he would ever be able to be anything better than what he was right now. He wanted to try baking, that was true, but it wouldn't do much for him, since he was only 20.

"Are you quite sure you're alright, sir? I would not want anyone to be injured in their own hospital." as well, he didn't know the qualities of the substance, if it was dangerous or toxic in anyway or merely sticky and slippery, just a danger by falling. Maybe he should have kept some if he wanted to learn more about the properties of it.

  

Well at least the mess on the floor was take care of and nobody else would wind up in the pink, sticky mess. "I look as though I've fallen into a vat of something sugary at Honeyduke's, but I'm fine. I will likely be sore tomorrow, but that is an ailment of old age and not being able to bounce back like I used to." In reality, Bax was in pretty good condition, but some days he felt age creeping up on him. Whether he was stuck behind a desk all day or on his feet for the long haul, it often left him feeling stiff and sore. Maybe it was the stress, who knew.

"There are worse places to take a spill," At least in the hospital he could go nurse his aching hip with some ice and a pain potion straight away. "Immediate treatment at least." New clothes first. These may be beyond saving... He'd let Mrs. Parker decide that one and he would get an earful for it too. "Not sure the pants will make it, but I will, don't trouble yourself about it. Spills happen, as I'm sure you're aware." Magical maintenance did quite a bit of cleaning up spills, he was sure.

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I may never actually change this set by MJ

Gerard was unsure whether he should laugh, or let it be. He decided that it was meant as a joke and allowed himself a chuckle. He didn't know too much about his boss, or actually who was in charge of him. He just took it that most people could order him around, so he was careful not to step on any toes, literally and figuratively. "I hope so."

"There are worse places to have a fall." he agreed. Gerard wouldn't want to be anywhere too far away from a hospital, and as he rarely left Hogsmeade, it wasn't very likely. He had actually had some things happen in the Hospital, but he knew, or had picked up on enough healing magic to fix most things. Little things mostly. And he found that there was quite a lot of spills, "Especially in emergencies, but I do believe helping someone live is more important than cleaning up as you go. That is what my job is for." Gerard knew that he wasn't too clear or smart about certain types of magic, healing being one of them, but he wanted his job to at least matter.

  

Baxter could feel the pink goo seeping into his pants even further and the fabric was stiffening as it dried. Uncomfortable to say the least. Mrs. Parker was just going to be thrilled. Harassing Ari would have to wait for a wardrobe change.

"Ah, I believe that all levels of jobs are important in the grand scheme of things. There's so much to be done, it's hard to argue that one position is of more importance than another." Granted, healing was the number one priority in most situations, the hospital would not run smoothly without everyone else doing their part. The maintenance staff kept everything in good condition and clean, the sheer organization of the secretarial staff was invaluable (especially to Baxter). If one piece fell into disarray the rest would follow suit eventually.

"Hard to keep a large hospital function without all of the pieces cooperating. I believe I'm due for a new set of pants however. Thank you for your assistance Mr. Banges." Oh yes, new clothes time.

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I may never actually change this set by MJ