roman-cates

[roman-cates]

Someone answers the call button and the remote lights up. From the speaker comes a voice asking what they need. They tell them that Roman is awake, and someone is dispatched to check on him.

Just a minute later, a nurse shows up and introduces himself. Bryce seems to remember hospital staff being a lot less responsive. The nurse checks Roman's vitals and asks how he's feeling. He suggests Roman order dinner soon and explains how to order it through the same call remote. He hands over an actual paper menu.

Roman seems subdued while he's there. Bryce doesn't touch him, but doesn't move from his side either.

Soon enough, he leaves.

When the nurse comes in, Roman keeps pretty quiet, although he watches him closely. The nurse takes Roman's vitals and Roman tells him he's feeling pretty good. Not long after giving Roman a paper menu, the nurse leaves.

Roman looks up at Bryce and holds out a hand for him to take, not liking that Bryce had withdrawn all contact...

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[roman-cates]

Roman gives him a look. Not a glare, not quite.

Bryce takes his hand back from Roman's shoulder. Roman's expression changes, but Bryce can't really decipher how right now.

"We should let them know you're awake." He points at the remote-control like device that's positioned on the bed within Roman's reach.

Bryce takes his hand off Roman's shoulder and Roman turns his head, fixing him with a wary look, ready to stop him if he tries to walk away.

"We should let them know you're awake." Bryce points at the remote-control like device that's positioned on the bed within Roman's reach.

Oh. Roman's expression relaxes and he picks up the remote, pushing the little call button.

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[roman-cates]

"So, possibly? Don't lie to me and say I'm only going to need two if there's a chance I might need more."

"I'm telling you the information I have," Bryce says. It's a thing he would normally say with some bite in his voice. He thinks right now he just sounds tired.

"I'm telling you the information I have," Bryce says. He sounds a little short.

Roman side-eyes him. Bryce isn't the one having multiple surgeries. What excuse does he have to be snapping?

It's not that Roman thinks he should have unlimited patience, but a part of him does blame Bryce for this, as much as he hates to admit it.

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[roman-cates]

Roman's eyes are still closed, but he seems slightly less stressed.

"… Am I going to need more than two..?"

"They seemed pretty optimistic that two would take care of it." Bryce sighs.

"They seemed pretty optimistic that two would take care of it." Bryce sighs.

Roman rolls his eyes, opening them with a disgruntled sigh. "So, possibly? Don't lie to me and say I'm only going to need two if there's a chance I might need more."

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[roman-cates]

"I didn't sign up for this." Roman's eyes are shut, and his hand is shaking as he shoves the cup into Bryce's waiting hand. Bryce takes the cup and puts it on the floor next to him.

"I know." His voice is heavy with guilt. "I…"

It's his fault Roman needs any of this at all. When Bryce found him, the only permanent physical injury he had was a broken leg. Now his ankle needs two surgeries if he ever wants to walk again. One finger is gone. One is cut off at a knuckle. He's been exposed to things that will probably leave more scars than Avery did, in the long run.

He shakes his head, not that Roman can see him.

"I know. I…"

Roman holds onto that bitter fear for a moment before exhaling slowly and relaxing his face and the rest of his body... "... Am I going to need more than two..?" he asks finally, voice a bit weak.

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[roman-cates]

Of course Roman panics. What kind of an idiot wouldn't see that coming?

"Yeah," Bryce says, and holds out his hand for the cup. He rubs Roman's shoulder, just a little. He doesn't know what else to say… "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Bryce says, and holds out his hand for the cup. "I'm sorry."

Roman tightens his grip on the cup, squeezing his eyes shut and then pushing the cup into Bryce's hand, his own hands shaking. "I didn't sign up for this." He did for the first one, sure, but not yet for any subsequent surgeries.

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[roman-cates]

Roman doesn't flinch away from Bryce's hand on his shoulder. He doesn't seem to notice it all.

Roman drains the water and then thanks Bryce. And then…

"It's over?"

"For today," Bryce agrees. "They want to operate again tomorrow." He forces himself to keep his eyes on Roman, not to look away in guilt as he wants to.

"For today," Bryce agrees. "They want to operate again tomorrow."

Tomorrow?

Despite how drugged Roman is, his stomach twists violently, threatening to make him throw up the water he just drank. "Tomorrow?" He looks up at Bryce, face lined in his forehead and between his eyebrows, reflecting his anxiety.

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[roman-cates]

"I promise," Bryce says, and pulls his hand gently from under Roman's. He keeps glancing back at Roman for the whole minute it takes him to get water in a cup with a straw. He brings it over and sits down next to Roman, holding it out.

He'd take Roman's hand, but he'll need it to hold the cup. He touches Roman's shoulder gently instead.

Roman sits up a little and takes the cup, not drinking too fast, but drinking the entire contents of the cup pretty quickly. "Thanks," he gets out once the water is gone. And a thought occurs to him. "It's over?" They're done with the surgery?

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[roman-cates]

"I'm thirsty," Roman says with a nod, and Bryce can tell by his voice anyway.

Bryce begins to stand, removing his hand from on top of Roman's. When he tries to remove the hand that's slipped under Roman's, holding his, Roman grips his hand a little tighter.

"I'm just going to get you water," he says quietly. "I won't leave the room." He doesn't pull his hand away, though.

Bryce gets up, but Roman doesn't let go of his hand. Where is he going? Why does he have to leave?

"I'm just going to get you water," Bryce says quietly. "I won't leave the room."

Roman makes a sort of skeptical expression, but lets go. "Okay... if you promise..." He keeps his eyes glued to Bryce even though he's let go.

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[roman-cates]

Roman smiles. Shakes his head a bit. He looks…relaxed. When he speaks, he also sounds a bit confused.

"It doesn't hurt."

Like it's a miracle. Like he forgot how it felt to not be in pain. Bryce, I'm in constant pain. He'd tried to adjust, tried to help, but it hits him that he never fully internalized what that meant. Roman looks so, so relaxed.

But he's drugged. He didn't want to be drugged. Bryce fights back the guilt that rises like a wave to drag him under.

"Yeah," Bryce murmurs, hoping nothing shows on his face. "I think they've got you on some serious painkillers." He keeps his eyes on Roman's, a little worried about his reaction.

Roman doesn't respond, just looks at Bryce, still more relaxed than Bryce has ever seen him. There are lines of pain that Bryce only notices in their absence.

"Do you need anything? Water?" They'd told him Roman could have water, or call down for food.

"Yeah," Bryce murmurs. "I think they've got you on some serious painkillers."

That makes sense... Roman can't seem to find it in himself to care, though... The relief is too good... too complete to worry about the fact that he's drugged...

"Do you need anything? Water?"

"I'm thirsty," Roman nods a little, voice carrying a slight raspy dryness.

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[roman-cates]

Roman looks very disoriented. It takes him two tries to get Bryce's name out, but Bryce is just relived that Roman recognizes him. Recognizes him, and isn't terrified. He hasn't pulled his hand away, either.

"Yeah," he says again, voice still low. "I'm right here."

"Yeah," Bryce says, voice still low. "I'm right here."

Everything feels slow... It takes Roman a second, but he smiles a little and shakes his head just a bit... "It doesn't hurt." There's a little confusion in his tone... And this is the first full and real relief he's had since before Avery.

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[roman-cates]

Roman's eyes twitch, and then open. He looks confused as he stares straight up at the ceiling. His hand doesn't move in Bryce's.

"Hey," Bryce says, voice soft, and, honestly, a little hesitant. "You awake?" He doesn't let go of Roman's hand, but he's careful to hold it lightly.

"Hey, you awake?"

Bryce? Roman turns his head to see where he is. It hits him that he actually can feel his body. It just doesn't hurt.

"Bry..." His mouth is dry and he swallows. "Bryce..?"

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[roman-cates]

After that, everything move quickly. They hook up the taped site on his arm to an IV and inject something. Roman lies back down, his arm still on Bryce's sleeve. He's out pretty fast, objectively. Subjectively, it seems to take forever for his grip on Bryce's sleeve to loosen, and Bryce only lets go of his hand when the nurse tells him to.

They take Roman away after that, and Bryce sits down. He tries to think about work, but Roman pushing against him, screaming to be let go, crying that he wants to go home are all he can think about. He paces in the room for a bit, and then goes to the cafeteria. He's not hungry, but he needs a walk.

After the cafeteria, he wanders the hospital for a bit, but that brings back memories he can't handle right now, so he goes back to the room and paces a little more. Finally he collapses on the chair. He thought he wouldn't get any sleep last night, thought he'd be tired right now, but he did, so he's not, and he can't get his betrayal out of his own head. Whether or not it was a betrayal. Whether or not he kept a promise to Roman.

He plugs his phone in and puts earbuds in. Tries to get a little work done, a bit of checking on the current footage. He can't trust Emily to keep him fully apprised, not anymore.

There's nothing interesting, not in the last day.

He texts Jean, just to have something to do. Then he picks up one of Roman's novels and reads a little. He puts it down after two chapters, and goes back to the cafeteria. Then back to the room.

An hour later, they bring Roman back. He looks too skinny on the bed, hooked up to tubes and feeds and monitors. Bryce pulls the chair up to the bed and takes Roman's right hand in both of his own.

There's another cold flush in his veins and it doesn't take long before Roman finds the familiar affects of a sedative taking hold... He can't keep his eyes open and he slips into an unaware sleep...

When he wakes, it's slowly. Everything feels fuzzy and fluffy and staticky. He blinks his eyes open. Where is he..? Why can't he seem to feel his body..? His eyebrows furrow as he looks up at the lights...

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[roman-cates]

"Okay," Bryce repeats, still confused but unwilling to voice that emotion. "Okay, I'm right here."

The door opens again. The doctor and nurse are back. Bryce puts his hand on Roman's and shifts a little, moving closer to the raised head of the hospital bed.

"We're going to give you something that will let you sleep," the nurse tells Roman, "You won't wake up until after we've worked on your ankle."

Roman flinches as the nurse and the doctor enter, grip on Bryce's sleeve tightening in fear that he'll try to move away.

"We're going to give you something that will let you sleep," the nurse tells Roman, "You won't wake up until after we've worked on your ankle."

Roman squeezes his eyes shut and gives a jerky nod, sticking out his arm that isn't holding Bryce's sleeve.

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[roman-cates]

"N-no—" Roman grabs Bryce's sleeve (long-sleeved today, to cover the tattoos). Bryce stops immediately, and even takes a step closer to the bed.

"Okay," he soothes, and brings a hand up to Roman's on his sleeve. He pauses before touching it, though. *Let me go* echoes through his head. "What…Where do you want me?"

"Okay," Bryce soothes. "What…Where do you want me?"

Roman hesitates. "... J-just... there..." He doesn't let go of Bryce's sleeve or get back fully into the bed.

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[roman-cates]

Roman shuts his eyes and nods. He pulls back unto the bed, and gives a very low "Okay…"

"I'll be right back," the doctor says, and leaves the room. Bryce looks down at Roman, who still has his eyes closed. He probably hates Bryce right now, and he definitely tried to physically push him away earlier.

Bryce takes a backwards step, willing to leave him now that he's safe, but unwilling to turn his back. The chair is just steps away, he can back up to it easily.

The doctor steps out, but Roman hears Bryce step back, too.

He said he would stay.

Roman's eyes fly open and he sits up, on the edge of the bed in all of half a second as he reaches out and grabs Bryce by the sleeve. "N-no—"

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[roman-cates]

"N-no— please no— Bryce— wai-wait— please don't lea-eave me in here—" Roman begins to push himself off the bed. Again.

Bryce takes a quick two steps forward, blocking Roman's ability to exit with his body. He looks back at the doctor with a quick "Sorry," before he turns his attention back to Roman. He can't see the doctor's face, but Roman is calming down (from where he was seconds ago, anyway) and he's not trying to get off the bed, so he'll take the win.

"I understand you're scared, and acting irrationally. We can sedate you now." The doctor tells Roman, apparently having accepted that Bryce won't be leaving.

Bryce comes back and blocks Roman from getting up. That's fine. He just wants Bryce to stay.

"I understand you're scared," the surgeon says, "and acting irrationally. We can sedate you now."

Sedate..? Roman's eyes widen and he looks at the doctor and he's shaking and feels sick and sweaty...

But... as much as he hates being drugged... Bryce isn't going to let him leave. Maybe... it's for the best if they sedate him and he wakes up hopefully when it's all over...

Reluctantly, Roman shuts his eyes. Swallows. Nods. "Okay..." he whispers, carefully drawing his legs back onto the bed in defeat.

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