Bandage, wrap, repeat.

The mining accident had initially occurred when some lunkhead used too large an explosive for the hole he was digging. The injuries weren't all life-threatening, and besides, the dangerous ones were carted off to more experienced and capable hands, but for the rest...

Dan sighed. These miners took advantage of absolutely every possible employee benefit available.

His current patient curled his arm, and rolled his shoulder. "Gee, doc, I think I hear a cracking noise."

"Ignore it. If it isn' makin' ya curl inta a ball from the pain, it ain't worth my time."

His patient moved his shoulder back and forth, eliciting audible cracking and popping noises as he did so. "Gee, doc, it sure makes some funny noises..."

Dan scowled. Ever since they had made a sub-union to unionize against 'unfair' union laws of the first union, he had stopped caring about their whining. It was only right and proper to be treated as a person, rather than just an unthinking cog in a machine, but...

Cutting off the thought himself, he acerbically replied. "Yup. Sure does." He shooed the 'patient' away. "Send the next'un in."

Dan turned back to the bandage cabinet, and sighed. In truth, he should feel happier about the whole affair. The injuries were minimal, the only casualty was the idiot responsible, and Dan once again had proved to his employers why a field medic onsite was worth a regular salary. This incident should let him keep his job for another month or so before they start talking about downsizing him again. The miners would start an uprising if he was sacked, but nowadays, the miners started uprisings if there wasn't enough of the right kind of oatmeal stocked in the vending machines. Their predictable response had cheapened what the term should normally mean.

He grimaced, feeling a muted spark of nostalgia to his advocacy days in college, and turned to deal with his next patient.

As he worked, he thought back to his naive actions in his pre-employment stage. He had thought many silly and stupid things, things about what equal rights meant, or how sexist bias was the critical issue at the root of all problems.

Dan had been turned off this path into a petty protestor by his history teacher, who had given him many false grades in exchange for small favors, spouting knowledge and 'wisdom' as he took candy and small rodents for his pet python. He had been his favorite teacher, and the only one to accept beer as a bribe.

"When one man takes advantage of another, you can always tell who was in the wrong by which one most loudly declares himself a victim."

He hadn't understood what that had meant, at the time, but now, as he grudgingly gave an insubordinate miner an eye bath and an eye patch to deal with his ''eye jus' abou' bein' put out'' by loose rock dust, he totally got it.

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Dan didn't know where these miners got the idea that their company was a tool to serve them, rather than the reverse, but frankly, he didn't care. Advocating left you a dry husk of who you used to be, and Dan didn't have it in him any more to advocate on anyone's behalf.

Wannabe patients wafted their way through his care room, handling their monthly check-ups for free as faked 'injuries' from the blast. Dan served them all with a cutting wit and no holds barred for care. It wouldn't do if one of them were to complain about the poor quality of their care. If ten feet of wrapping gauze is what it takes for them to feel like they've been to the doctor, he'd darn well give them ten feet of wrapping gauze. He would give them a lollipop, too, but he saved those for actual patients, not insipid whiners.

If there was one upside to this gig, it was the massively decreased inpatient rate of children. They always wanted a lolly, and would make him feel obligated to break out the smiley stickers, too.

Another nugget of wisdom wafted up from his unconscious. "Only work where you want to."

The advice was less applicable, but it still helped him move from general care. If there was one thing he couldn't stand...

Cutting himself off with a grunt, he tightened the 'splint' on a miner's forearm. They emitted a grunt of discomfort, and he made sure to monologue about how to take it off once it started hurting worse.

No, there was more than just one thing he couldn't stand.

____________________________________

"I'm tellin' ya, it's broken! I swear!"

"And I'm telling you, I'm closed! I've dealt with you lot fer hours now, and I need my sleep!"

The woman cradling her arm let out a cry of anguish. Dan didn't care much for the show of emotion, the miners were a theatrical bunch if they wanted attention, and in this case, he really didn't care.

"It hurts! Please, just look at it!" The woman had tears in the corners of her eyes, and for a moment, he felt the familiar urge to comfort and soothe her, the feeling responsible for his career choice into medic. Just for a moment.

And then the moment passed. If she really had a broken arm, she would have shown up at the onsite clinic hours before, and not turned up on his doorstep just at the last minute before he went home

"It can wait 'til tomorrah!" With that, he deftly spun, unlocked his door, and slammed the door as he finished the spin to turn around and deliver a glare as it closed.

This was not meant to be, as his spin inserted his foot in the path of the door just before he applied that little bit of extra pressure to make his point.

There was a sharp, alarming, cracking noise. It was accompanied initially by the 'thwump' of the door trying to close, and then followed by his screams as he accurately identified by feel how many bones there were in a toe.

Dan fell over backwards, feeling as though his foot(and then leg, collectively) were literally on fire. He distantly heard the woman exclaim through his screams, and vaguely noticed the door opening through his groaning and clutching as he curled into a ball.

Another one of his teacher's sayings floated up into his consciousness. "You reap what you sow. If you sow lies, deceit, and plaguerism, you reap only pain, and suffering, and anger. Another thing, if you care to listen, is that nothing is without cost. If you want something, you must suffer to get it. Work is suffering, so therefore: Pain is gain."

In that moment, he wanted nothing more than for things to be fair, and for people to want things to be fair. Well, he also wanted to not be in pain, but part of him noted that it was probably fair and just karma as he noted the woman's arm was indeed broken as she tried to help him.

"Pain is gain."

A bell tolled lowly in the distance. He didn't pay it much mind.