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#as soon as i started the surgery i just got into the rhythm and everything clicked into place
medusapelagia · 2 months
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Running From The Daylight - Part 15
Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8,  Part 9,  Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15
This is the last chapter! Thank you so much for staying with me during this journey!
Written for @whumpuary Rating: Mature  Relationship: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson  Prompt: You are safe WT: surgery, medical procedures Words:  1102
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Despite the dose of caffeine, Eddie must have fallen asleep, because Wayne is shaking his shoulder gently, calling his name.
“Five more minutes…” He murmurs, before remembering where he is and that he is still waiting to have news about Steve.
“Eddie you have to wake up, they are taking Steve to his room.” Wayne insists and Eddie immediately opens his eyes, almost falling from the chair where he was resting.
“Where is he? How… what…” He has a million questions but the words are too difficult to articulate and he can’t put one after the other to make a single sentence that makes sense.
Wayne shrugs “I don’t know. The doctor will speak with us soon and the nurse just informed us that we can go see him if we want. But I want to warn you, he is still under the effect of the anesthesia.”
Eddie nods, stands up quickly, and follows the nurse to Steve’s room. 
His boyfriend is still pale and asleep, but the heart monitor at his side shows a stable rhythm and even if his leg has some long screws in it, it’s still attached to Steve’s body which seems like very good news.
“When will he wake up?” Eddie asks the nurse who shakes her head.
“We don’t know how long it will take, he was pretty weak when he got here so it’s probable that even if the anesthesia wears off he will keep sleeping. His body needs to regain his strength.” Eddie looks at her with such desperation that the nurse immediately adds “But it’s a good thing, resting will help him heal faster.” She tells him with an encouraging smile while checking the IV in Steve’s arm.
Robin, at Eddie’s side, puts an arm around his shoulder, murmuring that everything will be alright, that Steve will wake up in no time and that they should start searching for a black marker to draw a mustache on his sleeping face. 
Eddie chuckles between the tears while the nurse takes Steve's vitals and then leaves the four waiting for the doctor who arrives a few minutes later. He informs them that surgery went well and that they expect a complete recovery in a few months “He will have to rest in bed for at least a couple of weeks, but once the wound is properly healed he could start moving around with some crutches. He will have to do some physiotherapy to regain strength in the leg after we will remove the screws, but luckily nothing was permanently damaged.”
At that news Eddie starts to cry again, murmuring “Thank you, thank you…” While hugging Robin and feeling Wayne’s arm on his back.
Hopper tries to insist that Eddie and Wayne should get a room in a hotel to rest a little, but Eddie refuses and sits on the chair next to Steve’s bed, determined to stay with him at least until his boyfriend wakes up.
“We don’t know how long it will take. Try to be reasonable.” Hopper insists but Eddie it’s adamant and Wayne decides to keep an eye on both his boys while Robin and Hopper go to rest a little: it was a very stressful couple of days for everyone and now that it’s over Robin seems ready to fall asleep at any given moment.
“We will be back in the morning.” Hopper assures them while dragging Robin toward the door and the two men nod. 
***
Eddie has been holding Steve’s hand for hours when he feels something move. He stills and turns toward his boyfriend, trying to detect any possible movements.
"Steve? Stevie?" He calls, trying to get a reaction from him, and after a few moments, Steve's thumb flex a little.
Eddie gets closer, studying Steve's face “Sweetheart? Are you awake?” He tries again, “Steve, love, can you hear me?” he murmurs and this time the chocolate brown eyes of his boyfriend look back at him, confused “Hi love.” Eddie tells him,  kissing his hand, but Steve startles and tries to move and Eddie stops him “You are safe, Steve!” He says, trying to calm him down “You are ok! You are in a hospital! You broke your leg pretty badly but the doctor fixed it and you’ll be fine in no time.” He tries to explain to his confused boy “You are safe.” He repeats, brushing away some hair from Steve’s forehead.
“Ed?” Steve calls, staring at him with his blurry eyes.
“I’m here, baby. Help came and the rescuers brought you to the hospital, but don't worry, you are going to be ok in no time, do you hear me? In no time. Wayne and I will drive you home as soon as they discharge you and Robin and Hopper are here too, you’ll see them in the morning. Oh, and Robin told me that you are not allowed to go on vacation for at least a year.” Eddie keeps talking, knowing that his familiar voice helps soothe Steve who falls asleep again in a few minutes.
“Did he wake up?” Wayne asks, getting in the room with two cups of coffee.
“He did!” Eddie replies with a big smile, “He woke up. Just for a few moments, but he woke up.”
“The nurse said that it might take a bit for him to wake up completely…” Wayne reminds him, offering Eddie one of the two cups.
“I don’t care. I’m in no rush.” Eddie whispers on the skin of his boyfriend, then he turns toward Wayne “I want to ask him to marry me.”
The man coughs, “Eddie… I think you should think about it. I don’t want you to make an important decision like this after what happened.”
“That’s exactly why I have to ask him to marry me!" Eddie insists "I could have lost him, Wayne.” He tries to explain while his mind is still full of fear “And the only thing I could think of it’s that I cannot live without him. That’s why people get married, right? Because they love each other very much, and I love him so much I can’t even explain it in words.”
Wayne hugs him “I know you do, kid, and if you want to marry him just ask him, but maybe wait for him to be a little bit more conscious, uh?”
Eddie nods, still holding Steve’s hand and thinking that if there is a silver lining in the horrible experience that they had is that he has realized that he can’t wait to put a ring on that perfect golden skin.
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pastelwitchling · 1 year
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Got a Daffodil prompt for you, since she's my favorite character in your stories ❤
The day of Daffodil's spay surgery is here and Alex is an absolute nervous wreck because his baby is going under the knife, even if it is just simple, routine surgery. Michael does everything he can to take Alex's mind off it and cheer him up. Even though Michael is nervous too. Daffodil is just fine though and they all end up in a big cuddle pile at the end.
Bonus points for evolving Kyle in the story somehow because I love how you write his and Alex's friendship (and Michael's long suffering tolerance 🤣)
@ashleymarie1684
***
Alex’s foot tapped restlessly in a discordant rhythm on the tiled ground, his elbows on his thighs, his fingers interlocked against his lips. Michael’s hand clamped down on his shoulder, and his knee stopped bouncing.
He looked up and found his husband the furthest thing from worried. If anything, Michael was smiling at him with amusement, fondness, love. He hoped it pierced through some of the dread in Alex’s chest.
“Babe,” he sat down beside him, his arm coming around his shoulders. “She’s just getting spayed. She’ll be fine.”
“I know,” Alex said, and his knee shortly went back to bouncing. Michael chuckled deeply against the shell of his ear.
“Breathe, Private.”
“I’m breathing.” A moment later, then Alex bolted up. “What was that?”
“Your imagination,” Michael said, unperturbed.
Alex exhaled shakily and sat back down, interlocking his fingers. He stared through the opposite wall of the narrow corridor they were in. The animal hospital in Roswell was not a big one, crowded with the noise and smell of animals awaiting procedures they didn’t want, medication they didn’t want, and evaluations they really didn’t want. Nonetheless, Alex had refused to leave for the less-than-half-hour procedure it would take the doctor to spay their six-month-old kitten, Daffodil.
“Your leg is going to kill you in the morning if you stay here,” Michael had tried earlier to no avail. “Why don’t you head home, get some rest, and I’ll stay with the furball.”
“Stop calling her that,” Alex said, kissed his cheek, and sat down.
So here they were, waiting and waiting. Michael tried to get Alex to eat, but he was too anxious for more than a few bites. Soon enough the doctor stepped out, a gentle smile on his face, and said that the kitten was fine.
“But we do want to keep her overnight to ensure the incision heals.”
“Okay,” Alex nodded in a way that said he was not okay at all about this decision. Michael very kindly did not laugh. “S-Sure.”
The doctor’s smile softened like he knew exactly what kind of parent Alex was, and reassured him again, “Daffodil is fine, captain. She’s asleep now. You can come pick her up tomorrow at noon.”
Michael wrapped an arm around Alex’s waist, pulling him in against him. “Thank you, doctor.”
He nodded, patted Alex’s shoulder, and walked away.
“Okay, beautiful,” Michael murmured against Alex’s cheek. “Let’s go home.”
Alex merely hummed, but he didn’t move, his eyes on the door behind which their kitten baby was probably sound asleep.
“You think she’s in pain?” he asked, as if he’d managed to keep the question at bay until just now.
Michael’s smile widened against Alex’s cheek. Had he ever felt this kind of love before?
“No.”
“Okay,” Alex nodded. “Okay.”
Michael kissed his ear. “Hey, you want to head over to the Crashdown for some dinner?”
“Okay,” he said automatically, eyes still on the door.
“Okay,” Michael said, and started to lead Alex away. Only until Alex managed to look away from the door did Michael dare glance over at it himself. She’s fine, he thought, and almost laughed at himself. Was this what it meant to be a dad?
Then he looked at Alex, and his heart surged with a love so overwhelming it threatened to kill him.
Whatever. As long as he got to be a dad with Alex.
***
The only scenario in which I support malex being parents.
Happy Malex Monday ❤
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deancaskiss · 2 years
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Surgery update: my surgery today was a complete success! I performed a closed castration on Kurt and it went really well. I had been nervous and anxious all the way up until we started the pre-medication process prior to the procedure, but as soon as we walked into the surgery suite i felt calm and collected. i had an amazing professional surgeon who gave me wonderful tips and tricks throughout the surgery. My incision was great and I was able to remove each side one at a time and made perfect suture knots before removal. I checked each pedicle before releasing it back into the body to ensure there was no bleeding, and my sutures held strong and everything was removed without any concerns. The professional surgeon said i did a fantastic job and every time she came to check on my progress she was impressed with how well i was doing. There were no complications and every step I did carefully and everything went smoothly. Kurt recovered super fast from the surgery and was awake and eating and drinking within an hour. I will be back on campus early tomorrow morning to do his discharge and to check everything with his incision is still holding strong. I feel so much more confident now that this second surgery was such a success and I’m so excited to perform a spay next semester.
Bonus: I had a toxicology exam this morning right before surgery and I got a 90% on the exam (which is the highest grade I’ve gotten on any exam this semester). It’s been one heck of a stressful day, but the fact that I did so well on my exam and the surgery went better than I could’ve hoped for has been such a blessing and I’m so proud of myself for all the hard work I put in!
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muffindaddystyles · 3 years
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Summary: Y/N's feeling icky about her body, but Harry loves her to bits and pieces, through thick and thin, in health and sick — and he always waits for her to come back to him.
TW: Body dysmorphia.
Y/N's healthy.
All she sucks in is having a sane sleeping schedule due to her UNI otherwise she eats natural goodies, cook and bake home because it comforts her more that way and she works out every evening to stay fit.
Sometimes though, she’s lazy and lacks behind which’s proper humane but deep down it effects her and her mental health more than she admits and she isn’t able to start over again – it mostly happens after her periods.
Harry loves her the way she’s.
Even if she’s clumsy, bumbling, procrastinating, overly enthusiastic to mend her life at 3 am, snotty and sloth-y in her periods, confident and positive around people, kind and loving whenever she comes to meet him, whiny and cuddly when she’s sick, jealous and grumpy with his attention not on her —- he loves her in every way possible, to rivers and to sea his love could never stutter for her ever.
He loves how she’s not overly toned, having soft squishy spots which Harry undeniably wants to admire and kiss shamelessly amount of times -- like -- her plummy pretty thighs that Harry likes to nestle his head in-between making her wriggle and squirm under his grasp, her overly cute tummy that Harry dies to pepper sweet adoring kisses and petal his lips round her belly button, everytime they’re cuddled up his bicep’s always looped her around her tummy to feel it rising up and down in calm rhythm, and oh! her tender titties, they’re actually his favourite babies and he loves to fondle them in his big calloused palms brushing his thumb over the sensitive perky nub and basks in the glittery whimpery mewls of hers.
He loves that she’s curvy and gives zero fucks if she’s skinny or not.
He thinks his baby’s perfect.
So perfect he actually feels the bubbling of devotion and affection filling to the brim of his heart’s chambers and leaking out and upon his ribs tickling him.
Y/N's his person and he worships her with his whole heart.
From some days though, she’s feeling devastatingly insecure about all her things Harry’s in love with and she has no-control over it how much she tries.
Harry’s observing that all with optimism (one of his great quality's that like a lion sly about his prey, he keeps an eye on everything but pretends otherwise). He has his intense gaze fixed on her when she’s taking a look of herself in the mirror for rather too long, running her hands down her body and practically shuddering.
He glances from over his laptop and drops everything he's doing watching her go monkies, sweating buckets and over exercising than her usual time.
He brings her closer and infront of him, pressing her to his chest and coiling his forearm around her shoulders whining a, “Baby..!” when they were brushing their teeth and despite of standing beside him and teasing him occasionally like she usually does she stuffs her face into the crest of his back and hides herself there to have minimal contact with her reflection in the mirror.
Her body dysmorphia spiking dangerously high.
“Deprived me of your cuddles. woke me up so early, granny.” She huffs lying through her teeth and how much his embrace was strong enough to keep her in place she still managed to wiggle out taking her previous cosy position, but he could feel her muscles tensing and an awkward silence falling over them.
He didn’t pry much. He wants to give her as much space as she requires to come back to him hale and hearty, as she always does and whatever happens he never forgets to remind her how much he loves her every night.
..
They were watching rom-coms on Netflix back to back with her curled up into his side with a spongy white wool knitted blanket thrown over them and his cheek was smashed atop her head popping in peanuts every now and then when out of certain she spoke pointing at the actress, “You know she got her ribs removed to get that shrinky waist.” Harry frowned at that. His face itching into disbelief and concern under the bouncing glow of telly.
He affixes his gaze down at her trying to read what’s cooking up in that genius brain of her's which isn’t being very rational and genius right now, they immediately turns soft and caring when she blinks up at him purely.
She squeaks, nose crashing against his collarbones when he scooches her up in his lap grabbing onto her knees to make her straddle his torso and he grumbles cutely when she tries not put all of her weight on him and doesn’t melts into him as his sweet lovie would used to do receiving a smack on her bum on his end.
He’s afraid that an evil version of her chomped onto his dear baby alive.
“Nothing else matters if all ye’ organs are packed safely and healthily inside you,” He tells her brushing loose frays of her hair behind her earlobe and rubs his thumb in gentle strokes over her treacly pulsing point, “Was just telling you ...” She mumbles, dotting touches on his knuckles and playing with his bare cold fingers.
It’s true, she was rambling out facts about the movie and cast out of habit because no-way she’d ever go through any surgeries to change herself to become someone she isn’t.
“Swear!” She yawps out in convincing high pitch when Harry squints down at her with his lips scrunched, one eye twitching in doing so.
“Alrighty. I believe you.” He cradles her cheeks in his palms and brings her mighty close to him to peck her cupid bow, then her bottom lip and the corners of her smiling mouth to suckle generous amount of whines from her and then kisses her lovingly – hands streaming down her spine and then resting atop her dip.
He thought she was ready to come back to him, to share her problem with him and Harry really wanted to bug in, to not let her fight her battle alone and take half of her hardships from her fretting self but guess not.
They were about to have sex when panic seeped in Y/N's eyes and her cheeks blazed up in that of embarrassment as she rushed to switch off the lamps that were the only source of light in their room.
“Moppet.” Harry sighed, knowing exactly what’s happening and she isn’t as foxy in covering it up as she’s thinking herself to be.
“Why wouldn’t y'want me t'see gorgeous self of yours?” His tone punctured and hurt, feeling useless for not knowing how to cheer her up and break her worries down. He smoothens his hands behind her to lock his arm around her waist, fingertips making grape sized indents into the flesh of her hip-bone as she streaks the tip of her nose up and down the crook of his neck, murmuring meekly against his salty skin while he hugs her warmly.
“’M just feelin’ shy.” He giggles at her response puckering his lips against her hairline to pet tiny, tiny kisses there as she fists her hands against his taught chest.
“Not somethin’ I haven’t seen before, love bug.” He blows raspberries against the underside of her jaw and their mouths meet into a messy, giggling, teeth clanking kiss when she sinks into pillows allowing him to cocoon her in his heat.
“I love you, Y/N. No matter what.”
.
The last dam breaker for them was this little get together at Sarah and Mitch's baby shower.
She matched her outfit with Harry. Cute lavender coloured little sweater blouse that was familiar to the baggy baby yarn cardigan Harry was wearing, it accentuated her curves and her bosom so prettily -- her midriff peeking from where the buttons weren’t closed and their jeans were painted (they did it themselves one Sunday when it was extra boring and inactive).
Y/N felt uncomfortable in her own clothes. A bitterness spreading inside her for herself and all she wanted was to escape away from her own skin.
She knows she’s loved and welcomed and cherished by her friends and family and the love of her life, most importantly. Then why was she feeling so icky about herself? Why everything's draining her and exhausting her?
Harry obviously could see through the gloomy tenebrous energy overshadowing her as he stood in the corner of the room grabbing the sorbet he poured in two glasses for them.
A sour guzzle of tears choking his throat and his limbs weakening letting the painful heartbreak seep into him when he watches her being fidgety and fiddling with the loops of her jeans, tugging her blouse every passing second and he’s sniffling a hiccup deep in his lungs when she shrinks into herself in dejection staring out of the window without any purpose.
Harry feels awful to startle her when he plops down beside her, coodling her closer to himself and tucks her head beneath his chin subtly and cups his palm under her jaw to make her look in eyes his eyes.
“Hi beautiful,” His tone had a saddening waver in it and his irises mossed bleak when Y/N remains unresponsive, zoning in and out of her own head feeling herself prisoned into her own invasive thoughts.
“You w'na go home darling?” He gives her a wet smile clearing his throat and blinking the stubborn moisture in his eyes away when Y/N nodded without any vivid expression.
All the way back home he denounced himself of not making her feel loved enough, to not to pest her soon about what she’s feeling and letting her slide deeper into the dark hole.
He thinks he’s a piece of shit.
.
Y/N wanted to dig the earth with her own nails and hide into it and never show her face again, she was overly ashamed of herself.
His hand was holding onto hers tightly, never letting it go as he led them through the hallway and his head perked up in confusion when she stopped them abruptly and lunged to wrap herself around him like he’s the last silver of her hope and the reason to live.
“I’m so sorry, so sorry.” There comes the first sob after ages of suffering and bottling it all in, not shocked at all he was expecting it to happen. Gently he picks her up and wraps her legs around him, keeping his support firm under her bum as she cried into his soft white t-shirt.
Carefully he sits them on the edge of the bed and tries to pry her soaky flushed face in his cradle but she refuses to show him, clutching onto his cardigan and whimpering brokenly.
“I just feel so disgusting,” Her sob scratches out of her throat and for a second he thought he heard her wrong, that her feeble crying’s playing some kind of a sick game with his heart.
“Harry do something I don’t want to feel disgusting.” But, when she pleaded helplessly a cold shiver settled in his bone marrow spreading an agonising burn in his stomach.
Gently he stirs her away from his chest to look at her, meeting their foreheads together while his thumb wiped her tears away and smoothed over her wabbly lips in profound tenderness.
“My beloved,” He whispers fondling his nose against hers and her eyes flutters into realm of calms, shaky breath falling over his lips as he brings her trembling fingertips towards them and pecks them feverishly.
“The love of me life, me heart.” He continues, “Shhh. Shh baby ‘s okay to cry but don’t tire y'self.” He hushes her when she whimpers loudly at his coy affirmation.
“I’m here with you, waiting f'you, watching y’goin’ through a stony path so I could be there to hold you whenever you trip –-,” He pets her hair, cupping the back of her neck to plant his lips bitten red from worry to her puffy damp eyelids and Y/N becomes a gooey lax of candle that’s been burning for tiring amount and finally her lover came to blew the agonising flame away putting her to peace as he coos snuggling her in his cordial embrace, “You’ve been so strong to yourself and ‘m so proud of me baby.”
“I’m always here. Never away from you, always right by y'side.” His palms bending around her ribs to smush her as intimately close as possible.
“How d'ya want your huggies babylove?” He simpers down at her darlingly, huffing out in relief seeing her relaxing -- her shoulders sinking from him massaging the knots in them.
“Tight.” She mumbles timidly. The gleam in her glossy eyes returning when Harry hugs her as she wished, squishing her in right places and not suffocating her at all – their breaths in sync chests flushed against eachother.
“I love you cuddly, and care f’you.” He kisses her on lips then goes to hug her right back.
“I love you too, Har. Thank you.” She sniffs in his woodsy scent grazing her touch up and down his back, smooching a soft kiss at his cheek.
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the-bau-quinjet · 3 years
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Please Don't
Summary: Hotch and Y/N have been pining for each other but everything changes after they go undercover for a case.
Warnings: Criminal Minds level violence, angst
Word Count: 2289
a/n: Thank you for this request!! I love a good Hotch moment. I hope you like it!
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"Alright ladies! Here's the first round." Emily smiled as she set the four glasses down in front of you all.
Girl's night had just started. It being Penelope's turn to pick the nights events meant you, Emily, and JJ were in for a long night of bar hopping.
"Yes!!!" Penelope nearly screamed, grabbing her drink and taking a large gulp. "First question of the night goes to Y/N."
Your eyes widened as everyone turned to look at you. Whatever game Penelope was trying to play was clearly not going to go well for you.
"Oh, God. What is it?" You grimaced, eyes flitting between the three of them.
"When are you going to do something about your crush on Hotch?" Emily wasted no time in getting into the hard hitting questions.
"And don't even bother denying it! It's so painfully obvious." JJ added on, eyeing you skeptically.
"First of all, rude. Second of all, fine. I have a hopeless crush on our boss. Are you happy now?" You playfully glared, knowing there was no use in even trying to pretend.
"So? When are you going to do something about it?" Penelope was giddy, always one to celebrate new relationships.
"Uh, never." You deadpanned.
"Why not?" She whined in response.
"Pen, he's my boss for one. Plus it's highly unlikely he feels the same. I mean, how would I even bring that up?" You shook your head, trying to avoid the conversation.
"Y/N, Hotch is totally into you-" Emily's rant was cut off by the sounds of all of your phones buzzing.
You all shared a glance before confirming your suspicions.
"Another girl's night cut short." You shook your head. "Who needs a ride?"
The four of you quickly made your way out of the bar before piling into your car and heading to the Bureau.
-
"Damn ladies, looking good." Derek greeted you when you piled into the elevator together.
You hadn't thought about changing before coming in. None of you were wearing anything wildly inappropriate. Your outfit was just a bit more form fitting than a typical day in the field required.
"Thanks Derek." You rolled your eyes, stepping out of the elevator and immediately heading for the conference room.
Aaron's eyes were on you almost instantly. He always looked for you first when a new case came in.
"You ever gonna tell her?" Rossi asked from next to him.
"I have no idea what your talking about." Hotch kept his face neutral despite knowing there was no real point in denying it to Dave.
"I see the way you look at her. You know, I see the way she looks at you too. you deserve to be happy, Aaron." He replied easily, a smirk on his face as he took a seat in the conference room.
Hotch merely shook his head, trying to supress the smile forming at the idea of you returning his feelings.
He quickly moved on to debrief the team ultimately telling everyone to meet at the jet.
-
Three days later, another couple was dead, and you were no closer to catching the guy.
"Wait, there's a new pattern." Reid jumped up, pointing out the abduction sites on the map. "He's moving south, alternating between 11th and 14th Street. Each abduction happened at a different club on those streets. If he follows pattern the next abduction will be tonight at Cameo." He pointed out the next club on the map.
"So we'll stakeout the club, stop him before he gets another couple." Morgan suggested.
"We can't risk a takedown inside the club." Hotch ran a hand over his face.
"What if two of us go undercover? Pretend to be a couple and then we can stop him when he tries to abduct us." You suggested a new plan.
"That could work." Dave added on, sending you a nod. "You and Hotch fit his victimology."
"What d'ya say, Hotch?" Your heart was beating rapidly, but you refused to let it show. "Wanna go on a date?" You playfully nudged his side.
"It's our best plan." He nodded resolutely. "Go with Emily to get something to wear."
You smiled at him before turning to see a mischievous look on Emily's face. She whispered in your ear as you walked out of the room.
"Get ready. Hotch won't be able to keep his eyes off you tonight."
-
"Are you sure I should wear this?" You pulled the dress down a bit, trying to cover more of your thighs.
"Yes. You look amazing, and this is definitely going to catch the eye of our unsub." JJ complimented as she added a few finishing touches to your hair.
"It's just now dawning on me why we don't do undercover work." You flinched away from Emily as she attempted to add a third layer of mascara.
"Oh, hush. This was your idea. Everything will be fine. Better than fine if you're lucky." She winked, capping the mascara and throwing it back into your makeup bag.
"Em, this is work. I'm absolutely not making a move on Hotch while trying to lure an unsub to abduct us." You deadpanned.
"I'm not saying make a move! This is your opportunity to flirt a little and see how he responds." She shrugged casually.
You were about to provide another rebuttal when a knock sounded on the door to the bathroom.
"Y/N, you almost ready?" Derek called from the other side of the door.
"Coming out now!" You nearly ran out before Emily or JJ could try to convince you to flirt with Hotch again.
"Damn, L/N." Derek smiled when you exited the bathroom. "Looking good. You know who else might think so?"
"Can it, Derek. I'm in no mood." You swiftly walked past him. You could hear Hotch arguing with Rossi about something as you walked up to the conference room door.
"Dave, cool it will you?" Hotch rolled his eyes, not noticing you yet.
"I'm just saying Aaron-" He tried again.
"Well, don't." Hotch's playfulness rarely came out on cases, but you could see a glimpse of it in the way he bantered with Dave.
"Ready to go?" You asked from the doorway, putting your comm's device in your ear. You felt a blush creep up your cheeks at the way Aaron looked at you.
"Ready." He gave you a tight smile, diverting his eyes from your tight dress.
"We'll be right outside. All the exits covered." Dave reminded the two of you, nodding as you walked out the door.
-
"Here you go, one vodka cranberry." He winked when he passed the glass over, a subtle reminder about the lack of alcohol coursing through you.
"Thanks." You shifted awkwardly, unsure of what to do now. You'd been by the bar for about an hour, and nobody suspicious had caught your eye.
"Do you want to dance?" You surprised yourself by asking the question, watching as Hotch's eyes widened slightly. "I just, the other couples? Didn't witnesses say they were dancing?" You whispered the last part, obviously trying to limit anyone overhearing your conversation.
"Right. Of course." He looked nervous, but you chalked it up to not doing undercover often.
You lead him to the middle of the dance floor, trying to find the best view of the doors. It took a few minutes of awkward swaying, but the two of you found your rhythm.
"Behind you, there's a man watching us." Hotch whispered in your ear sending a shiver through your spine.
You nodded slightly in response before turning around. You pressed your back to his chest to cover the movement, eyes flitting around the room to observe anyone suspicious.
It didn't take long for you to spot the man Hotch was talking about. You moved your arms up around his neck, pulling his head closer to you so you could whisper to him.
"Got him. How do we get him outside?" You suppressed the urge to grind your hips against Hotch's. It was hard enough to deal with the feeling of his hands on your hips.
He spun you around, pressing your chests close together. Again, he moved his mouth close to your ear to whisper, "we just need to give him a show."
He pressed his lips to yours lightly, waiting for your response. You kissed him back with passion, relishing in the feeling of his lips moving against yours.
Your breath caught in your throat when he pressed a series of light kisses to your neck. You involuntarily tilted your head to the side, giving him more room to work.
"I think we've got his attention. Let's head out the back door." Hotch grabbed your hand, pulling you behind him toward the back of the club.
The cool night air sent a chill through your body, but you didn't have long before the man burst through the door behind you.
Hotch easily overpowered him, knocking the gun from his hands. He pulled handcuffs from his pocket, quickly securing his hands behind his back.
"Morgan, we got him out back." You spoke into your comms, turning slightly when movement in the shadows caught your eye.
"Y/N, get down!" Hotch jumped in front of you just as you heard a gun being fired. He fell into you, slumping against your body. Everything happened so quickly.
"FBI, drop your weapon!" Morgan yelled, running closer to the man in the shadows.
He quickly handcuffed the partner, leading him to a waiting officer while Emily collected the other unsub.
"Aaron?" You looked at him in your arms noticing the blood soaking through his light blue shirt. "I need a medic!" You called down the alley, watching in terror as two medics removed Aaron from your arms.
You were frozen in place as they put him on a gurney and pushed him into a waiting ambulance.
It wasn't until the ambulance was completely out of sight that you realized Reid was talking to you.
"Y/N? Are you okay?" He gestured to the blood on your dress and hands.
You nodded silently, pointing to where the ambulance just was.
"Let's get you to the hospital okay?" He spoke softly, not wanting to add to your distress. He grabbed a shock blanket from a paramedic before leading you to an SUV. Derek and Emily sat in the front, ready to drive as soon as you got in.
You don't remember the ride to the hospital. You don't remember JJ helping you wash the blood from your hands. You don't remember a nurse updating you on Hotch's surgery. You don't remember anything except the look in Aaron's eyes as he bled out in your arms.
"Aaron Hotchner?" The doctor called out into the waiting room. All six of you stood up, eyes fixed on the woman in scrubs. "His surgery was successful. I can take one of you to see him."
The whole team gestured to you, knowing how you felt and how much you needed to see that he was okay.
"Follow me." The doctor lead you down the winding hallways to a recovery room where Aaron was asleep. "He's still under anesthesia for now. It should wear off in a few hours."
You nodded as she left, still unable to form any words as you took in his pale appearance.
"Aaron." You whispered his name, eyes brimming with tears. You pulled the chair as close as you could next to his bed, both hands wrapped around one of his.
You must've fallen asleep because before you knew it, the hand in your grasp was squeezing you back.
"Aaron?" You lifted your head from the side of his bed, eyes focusing on his. "Oh, thank God." You felt the tears brimming again.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm okay." He murmured softly, moving his free hand to wipe your tears.
"No. You're an idiot who jumped in front of a bullet for me." You whispered back, voice breaking.
"I'd do it again." He took no time to craft his response, only causing more tears to fall down your cheeks.
"Aaron-"
"Y/N, I don't have anyone else in my life quite like you. I haven't in a long time." His eyes never left yours as he spoke. "You make me feel like I could be happy again. Like Jack could have two people to provide him unconditional love everyday in his life again. Like maybe, just maybe, I could love someone again. I would jump in front of countless bullets for you because I can't imagine my life without you in it."
"Please don't." You whispered, eyes still watery.
"What?" Hotch could feel his heart breaking at the thought of you not returning his affection.
"Please don't jump in front of anymore bullets for me. I don't think I could survive this feeling again." You took a deep, shuddering breath. "Watching them wheel you away on that gurney... it felt like my heart was being cut open. Aaron, there's not a day that goes by where you don't make me smile. Even if it's just the thought of you. I can't imagine my life without you either."
He continued to wipe tears from your face as you spoke.
"Would now be a good time to ask you out to dinner?" He smiled when you laughed.
"I think now is a great time for that." You smiled, leaning your head into his hand.
"Perfect. So, will you get dinner with me?" He nearly whispered.
"I'd love to." You pressed a soft kiss to his lips before setting back against your chair.
It didn't take long for him to fall back asleep. This time, when you leaned your head against his leg, your heart felt full.
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Permanent taglist:
@averyhotchner
@jesuswasnotawhiteman
@strawberryspence
@sebastnstn
Criminal Minds taglist:
@mac99martin
@goldeng1rl8
@measure-in-pain
525 notes · View notes
waugh-bao · 2 years
Note
My heart has broken again. Poor Keith and poor Charlie. To know he was dealing with cancer again, twice within a couple years if I am understanding Keith correctly, but said in his statement he was working hard to get fit enough to join them. He still wanted to be on tour with them. I don’t know exactly how to phrase this but in a way I am glad Charlie never had to see them on tour without him and that up to his final days he knew they wanted him. Not glad he passed but you know what I mean?
I know exactly what you mean.
And as far as heart breaking goes, yeah, I think that may be the only way to put it. Watching the change in Keith when they went from discussing the Winos to discussing Charlie was shattering. He just sort of…collapses in on himself and looks so broken.
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Knowing more of the story now, I can't help but be awed by Charlie, though. He had this image, of course, of being the perfect gentleman and a decent, sweet man, but the fact that he lived up to that and went beyond right to the end is remarkable. I think really pretty unbelievable, if it were anyone other than Charlie.
According to Keith, his cancer had come back a year or two ago, and he'd gone through the very tough necessary treatments, mid-pandemic, to beat that. By spring/summer of 2021, he was back in the studio with Mick and Ronnie doing all of the new drumming work for the Tattoo You re-release and the new album that they've been working on for years. Then, he got himself in good enough shape to go on tour. It was only when they did the last check-ups and prepared to leave the UK to re-unite with Keith and do final rehearsals that he realized he was sick again. And even after that, and surgery, he still tried to get well soon enough to start the tour in September. At age 80.
That's an astounding level of dedication.
Beyond that, when it became clear that he wouldn't be able to make the tour, he didn't tell them to stop for him. I don't think anyone, least of all his bandmates, would have blamed him if he asked to postpone the tour until he was well enough to join. But he was more concerned about their tour crew not losing out on another job, and Mick and Keith and Ronnie getting to play together again for the first time in two years, than he was about breaking his record of never having missed a concert, or feeling left behind.
He even argued with Keith to get him to agree to it:
"The last thing I wanted to do was a Rolling Stones tour without Charlie, but you know, Charlie said, look go on with Steve. Charlie Watts was our mainstay... You took Charlie, everything fell apart..."
It's hard to know exactly how to phrase it, but that kind of dedication and selflessness feels like something from a fairytale or a dramatic movie, not real life. I wish it were a fairytale with a happier ending.
If there is a happy ending in it, I think it's that the Stones as they exist now were shaped by Charlie more than anyone. The entire rhythm section was handpicked by him; he chose Darryl Jones in 1993, and he picked Steve to fill-in for him in 2021. And, like Keith said, he's going on because he "can almost feel Charlie smiling down on us every night", and they have to maintain their connection to him to feel whole and want to make him proud.
They still need him and love him just as much as they ever did.
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parkerslatte · 3 years
Text
Years Passed [Chapter Three]
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Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader
Word Count: 2.1k
Part Summary: After Spencer asks Y/N our for coffee, the two share about their unlucky love lives.
Warnings: mentions of death, mentions of maeve, mentions of surgery
previous chapter / next chapter
Years Passed Masterlist
Main Masterlist
Taglist
***
CHAPTER THREE: CASE CLOSED
In the days following since Spencer showed up at Y/N’s apartment, she had been quite lonely. Harper’s school had started back up so she was gone the majority of the day leaving the house in silence. The constant giggles of her daughter were absent for six of the twenty four hours. Of course, Y/N took this as an opportunity to finish a commission she had been working on these last few weeks. The smell of paint was evident in the air causing Y/N to open all the windows around her. Y/N enjoyed painting very much but she missed the smaller version of her by her side, questioning everything she did and copying it to her best ability. 
The slip of paper that Spencer’s phone number was written on was sitting not too far away from Y/N and she would find herself occasionally glancing over to it. She did want to call Spencer but she didn’t want to seem too eager, and besides, he was working a case, there was no way he had the time for her. 
Seeing Spencer again wasn’t exactly on Y/N’s bucket list. Ever since she moved back six months ago, she hadn’t run into him once and he never even crossed her mind. However, once she saw him just days ago, she thought about him at least once a day. None of the thoughts were exactly bad, she just wondered if he had a family. If he was still interested in the same thing he was thirteen years ago. If he was the same Spencer she loved thirteen years ago. Shaking her head clear of any thoughts of Spencer, Y/N continued to paint the canvas that stood in front of her while softly singing along to the music that drowned out the silence. 
Y/N had only been painting for what she guess was another fifteen minutes before her phone started to ring from across the room. Groaning, as she had just gotten into a rhythm of painting, she walked over and looked at the caller ID. The number didn’t have a name but she recognised it - it was Spencer’s number. 
“Hello?” Y/N answered. 
“Hi, Y/N. It’s Spencer.” 
“Spencer, hi. What’s up?” 
“I was just calling because we caught the guy who abducted Ava.” Spencer said. 
“That’s good. Is she okay?” Y/N questioned quickly.
Spencer paused, “She’s alive, she’s in hospital currently. If we didn’t get to her in time there was a chance that she wouldn’t make it.” 
“But she is alive.” Y/N clarified.
“Yes, and the doctors say that she will make a recovery.”
“Thank god.” Y/N said, placing her hand over her heart. 
“You okay?” Spencer questioned.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I’m just glad that Ava is okay.” Y/N replied. 
“We all are.” Spencer responded. 
The two fell into a long silence, normally if this happened someone would hang up however neither of them did. Y/N wanted to say something but she didn’t know what to say. She did want to continue speaking to Spencer but she didn’t exactly know how to approach the topic. Luckily she didn’t have to say anything. 
“Do you want to go and get coffee, um, with me?” Spencer asked.
“Um, sure, when?” Y/N asked, suddenly feeling a weight lift off her chest.
“Now? Only if you’re not doing anything, if you are we could always reschedule and have coffee another time.” Spencer rambled.
Y/N couldn’t help but let a small smile appear on her face, “Coffee sounds great Spencer, text me where.”
“Okay, okay, I will, I’ll see you soon Y/N.” Spencer replied, suddenly sounding perkier.
“See you soon.” Y/N responded before hanging up 
***
As Y/N stepped through the doors to the cafe, she immediately looked around for Spencer. She found him sitting at the back corner of the cafe. As their eyes met, a wide smile spread across Spencer’s face as Y/N began to walk over. When she was finally standing at the table Spencer’s gaze didn’t move from Y/N for a second. 
“Hi.” Y/N greeted with a smile. 
“Hi.” Spencer responded, his smile that Y/N could recognise anywhere still evident on his face. 
Y/N sat in the seat across from Spencer and got comfortable. Once she looked down she noticed that there were two cups of coffee on the table.
“I don’t know if you still like your coffee like that but if you don’t I can always get you another cup.” Spencer said nervously.
Y/N smiled, touched at the simple action, “You still remember my order?”
Spencer felt his face heat up slightly, “Yeah, I do.”
Y/N smiled at him, causing Spencer to clear his throat, “So how have you been?” He asked, changing the subject.
“I’ve been good,” Y/N responded, “I’ve been settling in since I moved back here six months ago from England. Normally I would settle in quicker but Harper took a little longer to adjust.” 
“Why did you move back?” Spencer asked curiously.
“I loved living in England but being away from my family and friends was always hard and I couldn’t exactly afford to keep coming back and I couldn’t keep taking Harper out of school to have a small holiday to visit her family. I wanted her to get to know them in person not just through a screen,” Y/N explained, “Harper has loved being around her family since we moved.”
“She seems great,” Spencer said, “Harper that is.”
Y/N smiled at the thought of her daughter, “She is. Harper is the greatest thing to ever happen to me, I don’t know what I would do without her.”
“How old is she?” Spencer asked, genuinely interested.
“Seven, she’s eight in a couple weeks,” Y/N said, “I can’t help but feel a little sad about it. Like I know she’s going to grow up but these years seem to have flown by. I feel like it was only a week ago she learnt how to walk, now she’s practically running everywhere,” Y/N was lost in thought for a quick moment before she snapped herself out of it, “Anyway, that’s enough about me for now, how’s the FBI been treating you?”
“It’s been treating me fine.” Spencer said, the grin on his face faltering.
Y/N narrowed her eyes momentarily, “Are you sure? I may not be a profiler Spencer but I can tell that you’ve been through a lot,” Y/N said as Spencer made eye contact, “You wanna know how I know that?” Spencer nodded slightly, “It’s your eyes, they used to be so innocent, now they’re filled with sadness.”
Spencer cleared his throat, breaking eye contact, “I, um, I’ve seen a lot and I’ve been through a lot.”
“I can’t even begin to imagine what you’ve been through,” Y/N said sympathetically, “Thirteen years working for the FBI. I can’t even wrap my head around how long it’s been.”
“Me neither,” Spencer agreed, “You have a sadness in your eyes too.”
“Excuse me?” Y/N questioned.
“You have sadness in your eyes too,” Spencer repeated, “The only time it disappeared was when you were talking about Harper.”
Before Y/N could stop herself, she nodded her head, confirming Spencer’s comment, “I do. For the last eight years everyone has commented on it - around this time of year too.”
Spencer could tell that Y/N was abou to tell him why she felt the way she did but he was quick to interrupt her, “You don’t need to tell me Y/N.”
“No, it’s fine, seriously, practically everyone knows,” Y/N said before taking a deep breath, “My husband and Harper’s father, Owen, well he was in an accident and had to have surgery. We were told that there was a seventy-five percent chance the surgery would be successful. It was successful for the most part, he was like himself, always around Harper, playing with her.” 
Y/N found herself smiling at the memory of Harper playing with her father, “However, after a couple of weeks, he began to find himself getting more tired than usual. He just thought that it was the stress of work but he began to get worse to the point that he couldn’t get out of bed without him being in constant pain.” Y/N stopped her story for a moment, she never had a problem explaining this story before, but being the time of year it was, she was having a hard time.
“He was on so much medication just so he could actually walk around. Both of us knew that he didn’t have long left. I never wanted to make peace with that, I kept denying the inevitable saying that he was going to get better and we would be the happy family I always wanted. Deep down I knew that would never happen but I couldn’t help but lie to myself,” Y/N took a deep breath, by now her eyes were glossy with tears. 
“The one thing Owen wanted was to make it to Harper’s first birthday,” Y/N said, “He died four days before.”
“I’m sorry Y/N.” Spencer said sincerely, he contemplated reaching across the table to take her hand and give her a bit of comfort but thought better of it. 
“It’s okay,” Y/N said, “Normally when I tell people about Owen, I don’t normally get this upset about it, at least I don’t anymore. But since it’s coming up to the anniversary of his death, I guess I just can’t help myself from feeling this way. Sorry for dumping all of that on you, I don’t know why I did it.”
“Y/N, it’s fine, seriously.” Spencer said. 
Y/N gave Spencer a tight lipped smile, “So what about you Spencer Reid, do you have a family?”
Spencer shook his head, “If you mean an actual family as in a wife and kids, I don’t.”
“Why’s that? Do you ever want a family?” Y/N asked.
Spencer nodded, “I’d like nothing more in the world,” He said, “You don’t mind if I talk about something personal do you?”
“I mean I just did so I’m sure it’s perfectly reasonable for you to share too.” Y/N said.
Spencer cleared his throat before speaking, “Well a few years ago I had a girlfriend, Maeve. She was being stalked so we only communicated through phone calls,” Spencer began to explain, “We never saw each other but I fell in love with her. The only time I saw her was when she was killed in front of me by her stalker,” Spencer paused, “I thought that when we could eventually see each other then we could start a family, get married, have kids. Of course that could never happen but I could only think of what would’ve been.”
“I’m sorry Spence,” Y/N said, unconsciously reaching across the table and gently placed her hand on top of his. Neither Y/N nor Spencer thought any different of it and Spencer squeezed her hand as a silent thank you. 
“I haven’t really felt a connection to anyone after Maeve, not enough to fall in love with.” Spencer said.
Y/N nodded in agreement, “Ever since Owen died, I haven’t really had a long term relationship, none of them lasted more than a few months at most. Some of them just thought of it as a fling, some of them couldn’t handle the responsibility of being a parent and some of them were scared off by the thought of me being a mother.”
“You’ll find the right person eventually.” Spencer said.
“And you will too Spencer, and you’ll get to start your family.” Y/N said, offering a small smile to which Spencer returned with one of his own.
Looking down at her phone, Y/N’s eyes widened slightly, “Is that the time? I’ve got to go now, I need to pick Harper up from school.”
“Of course.” Spencer said, removing his hand from Isla’s after he had noticed that they were still connected. 
Y/N stood up, slinging her bag over her shoulder before turning back to Spencer, “This was fun, we should do it again soon but I’m buying the coffee next time.”
Spencer let out a quiet chuckle, “That’s only if you’re here before me.”
“Oh I will be,” Y/N said, “I’ll see you soon Spence.”
Y/N gave him a parting smile before turning and walking out the cafe to go and pick up her daughter.
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PERMANENT TAGLIST
@spenxerslut @averyhotchner @drayshadow @moviequeen51 @spencer-reid-am-i-right @ssavanessa22 @amurderofcrowsinatrenchcoat @mbjackie @jklemps @reformedmoneyshovel @nomajdetective @jesuisbenny @jooniehomie @spencerreid-187 @onyourfingertips @uhuhuh @rubyhi208-42 @archer561 @c0rpsecore @sweetandsunny @zoeygraygubler @algonsa @jswessie187 @shemarmooresfedora @kaz-2y567 @alfonsais @aikrus @nani-2305 @death-becomes-her @sarejane @isabelle-558 @measure-in-pain @the-nerd-gang @manuosorioh @luredwithpretzels @ceeellewrites @totallyclearwitch @jekkles @this-is-doctor-and-its-calm @sarahpaulsonlov3r @periwinklemax @kuolonsyoja @heartmira @hoodpankow @parahmur @happymangospot @beepbooptoop @ilovespencerreidmarryme @spencesoulmate25 @bloodyxheaven @nyx2021 @morganwilliams @malindacath @pastelbabygirl19 @doctorspenceryeet @reidsbookclub @pinkdiamond1016 (will be continued in reblog)
SERIES TAGLIST
(Will be added in reblog)
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sodasback · 3 years
Text
Overdose
ER Nurse Rafe x ER Nurse Reader
Reposting from my deleted account. 
TW: Mentions of drug overdose, CPR, death, panic attack
One of your guy best friends in high school, Chris, died of a drug overdose. And you were the one who found him. You tried to do CPR, but 1. you didn’t really know how to do CPR when you were 16 and 2. it was too late even if you did know how to do it correctly. This traumatic experience did 2 important things for you. You became a total straight edge, scared to death of drugs. And it made you want to save everyone. It’s probably why you became a nurse. 
Tonight, you and Rafe were working in the ER together. Rafe was off taking care of patients on the other side of the emergency department, when the Charge nurse told you a cardiac arrest was coming in. She assigned roles to you and a couple of other nurses. You were assigned compressions. 
“What’s coming in?” Someone asked. 
“16 year old male, OD’d on unknown substances, found pulseless. ETA is 3 minutes.” 
Your throat went dry. Of course you have dealt with drug overdoses in the ER all the time. But so far, none of them had been teens who were found pulseless. It just hit too close to home. You considered backing out and asking someone else to take your role. But then you realized: this is why you’re here. You’re here to give this kid the best chance at surviving this. You nodded your head to yourself and decided you could do this. 
“Do we know his name?” You asked.
“No, not yet.” 
By this time, Rafe had heard about the call coming in and he transferred and discharge his last couple patients, so he popped over to see if there was anything anyone needed. 
When he saw you getting ready by the empty gurney and setting up the step stool you would stand on to be able to give proper compressions all the dots connected for him. He realized you were about to give compressions to a 16 year old who OD’d, just like your friend in high school. 
“Y/N” he got your attention as a handful of people scurried and danced around each other preparing the area for this resuscitation attempt. 
You looked up at him wondering what he wanted. “Let me do compressions” He said with some authority. 
“It’s fine Rafe. I got it.” You shook your head at him. 
“Y/N” he said more sternly. No one seemed to notice the exchange going on between you two as they busied themselves with their tasks. 
“I said I got it.” You said aggressively. Rafe came over next to you so he could talk to you without anyone else hearing. 
“Y/N you don’t have to do this. You shouldn’t.” He said with a hand on your hip, ready to physically pull you off the stool. You pushed his hand away roughly. 
“I’m fine, Cameron” you said coldly. He recoiled at your tone and the use of his last name in a non-teasing way. 
He backed away silently and stood out of the way to watch the resuscitation and be there as extra hands ...and to be there for you. 
Then, the gurney came crashing through the doors. The medics who brought him in got him transferred onto your gurney. 
“What’s his name?” You asked as soon as you got the chance.
“Michael” The medic replied and you nodded. 
“Good to take over compressions?” the medic asked you. 
“Yep” you stated confidently and he lifted his hands away from the boys chest. You replaced his hands with your’s. With your elbows locked and fingers laced together you used your body weight to push down on the kid’s chest, pumping his heart for him so blood would circulate his body. 
You could feel Rafe standing nearby with his arms crossed, gloves already on in case he needed to jump in. Someone would have to take over compressions for you eventually no matter what. No one is supposed to do compressions for more than 2 minutes, because you get tired and start to not be as effective. 
You knew the chances for this kid were not good. He was already dead. Someone found him dead. Who knows how long he had been that way. Narcan had already been given. His heart didn’t have a shockable rhythm. All you could do was compressions, breaths and give him epinephrine in hopes of starting his heart again. 
“Come on Michael” you whispered over and over again. 
“Let’s do a pulse check.” The code leader called out. “Pause compressions”
“Stopping compressions” you confirmed as you pulled your hands away from his chest. Rafe was already by your side, pushing you out of the way with his body. 
“I’ll take over compressions” he announced to the entire room, so you couldn’t argue with him. You rolled your eyes and stepped out of the way. Even though you were mad at him for being overprotective, you knew someone would have had to take over for you soon, because you were getting tired, so you let it go. 
Because it was a 16 year old kid on the table the team tried for almost 2 hours to resuscitate him. Rafe and one of the techs took turns doing compressions.
 Finally, the team leader said, “One more round of epi and then we need to call it.” Rafe was the last one to give compressions.
The last round of epi was given and then there was a final pulse check. 
“Still no pulse.” The nurse who was checking stated solemnly. 
“Time of death 2347″ the doctor announced. 
Rafe instantly looked at you. You were staring at Michael laying on the table as everyone started to back away from the gurney and clean up the area for when his family came in. Your stare was blank, your body was numb. Rafe was helping pick up all the discarded supplies and position Michael in a way that was appropriate, but he kept looking up at you. And you just kept staring at the gurney. 
You felt your eyes get wetter. Finally, the room cleared out almost completely. One nurse stayed with Michael’s body. Rafe came over to you. 
“Let’s go outside.” He said to you, trying to be gentle and firm at the same time. You finally broke out of your trance. 
“What? No. I’m fine. I have other patients.” You said sniffling and shrugging off Rafe’s arm that he was trying to wrap around you.
“No, we have plenty of coverage. There’s no admits. We’re fine. Come on.” He said a little more sternly. 
Before you could reply and before Rafe could get you to move from the trauma bay where Michael’s body was still laying in a gurney, his parents rushed in already in tears. Already grieving the loss of their son.
That’s when you felt your chest explode. Your legs felt weak, but something was holding you up. All of a sudden you were outside and everything was blurry, but you didn’t know how you got there. You were sobbing for a while before you realized Rafe was holding you against his chest. 
“Breathe” Rafe was telling you calmly but you could hear concern in his voice. He was stroking your hair. “Y/N I need you to breathe.” You heard him again. 
“Here, were gonna sit” Rafe guided you down to the ground to sit, he sat behind you with a leg on either side of you. Another nurse came outside, “Is she okay?” He asked. 
“Yeah man, can you just grab a paper bag for her? She’s just hyperventilating a little. She needs to hold on to her CO2″ Rafe told him. 
He placed his fingers on your shoulders, “Open up your chest, baby.” He told you gently, pulling your shoulders back. “Breathe ... slower ... breathe with me. Breathe in... good, hold it for a sec. 1, 2, 3, 4. Okay exhale. Slow slow. Good love. Again, slow.” 
“Here ya go man.” The nurse handed Rafe a paper bag and went back inside. But you were breathing better now. Rafe moved so he could see your face. You took a deep breath and looked at his worried expression. 
“It was just like Chris, Rafe. I just wanted to save him.” You cried and you weren’t sure if you meant save Chris or Michael or both.
“I know baby.” He said. “We can’t save everyone though.” 
“And see?! I know that. We frickin watch people die all the time! I shouldn’t be out here crying on the sidewalk. There’s patients in there that need stuff and I’m out here crying.” 
“You’re allowed to cry over it. There is no one inside who needs you right now. The census is low, they’re probably going to send someone home anyway because were overstaffed right now. ...And you’re allowed to get upset over it sometimes. This is a tough job, babe. And we all have patients that hit us a little harder sometimes. You don’t need to be a robot. Part of what makes us good at our jobs is that were human, ya know? You care, you have a huge heart. The world is a better place with a nurse like you who treats every patient like someone you care about. That was a tough loss on everyone, love, but we tried everything we could.”
You nodded, really soaking in his words, knowing Rafe was right. Everyone has especially hard days when a patient hits a little too close to home or it’s a patient you’ve bonded with and things don’t go the way you want. 
“Yeah, I know” You gave Rafe the tiniest smile and sniffled. “Thanks Rafe”
“Of course, baby.” He leaned forward and used his thumbs to wipe the mascara stained tears from your face. Then he stood up and pulled you up. 
“Do you wanna see if you can be the one sent home?” He asked. 
“No, I’d rather stay and be distracted.” You said. 
Just then, an ambulance pulled up and medics jumped out with a patient who had a table saw accident. You and Rafe looked at each other. “I’ll apply pressure.” You said already stepping towards the patient. 
“I’m paging the blood bank and surgery.” Rafe said putting his phone between his shoulder and ear helping push the gurney into the trauma bay while you held pressure.
Taglist: @moniamaybank @abbyj1822 @october-cameron @hernameisnoell @railmerafe
61 notes · View notes
kaz11283 · 3 years
Note
I really like the prompt list you reblogged it’s got some good stuff. What about 37. “Because I love you god damn it!” with Loki if you are still needing inspiration.
37) Because I Love You God Damn It!
~~~~
The Secret Is Out
Characters: the Avengers Bunch, Loki, Thor, Clint
Warnings: Dirty words, slight angst
Summary: after putting your life in the line for a teammate you accidentally let a big secret slip.
Announcements: I will always need insperation and requests! They feed my soul! Haha. I'm not gonna lie. Im skipping back and forth on my requests though. I have a really good story line for one but its just so emotional(thats were Im hoping it goes at least) that I didnt want to write it tonight and put my self in a mood. So instead I guess im goimg with a form of anger? Meh. Anyways... I absolutly love love love everything from you guys! The reblogs, likes, and comments are amazing and I am very greatful for all the love I am getting!!!! 💚💚💚💚💚
Loki Masterlist
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The fight had been rough but not as rough as you were feeling in the moment. You had gotten serverly hurt and had been in the medbay for about a week now and you had a longer road ahead. There had been an explosion and instead of turning to run away you had ran toward one of your team members that had been to distracted to realize what was going on, you had successfully gotten him shoved out of the way but you had taken the brunt of the blast.
Now you were laying here staring at the celing trying to stay distracted as Bruce and Tony looked at your completely shaddered knee and the burns up your leg. Fingers crossed that they would have good news soon.
"Well as of right now kid your out of commission." Tony said helping you sit back up.
"Meaning?" You pulled one of the pillows down so that you could sit up without being uncomfortable.
"Meaning right now, the way it all looks, your gonna be stuck in the bed until it fully heals and after wards theres really no way to tell if your going to be able to work in the field again." Burce said looking at the xrays again. "And your gonna have to have surgery in order to put all the right pieces back in the right places, but we cant really do that until some of the burns heal or at least start to heal. Its gonna be a long drawn out process unfortunately." He sighed setting the charts back down and walking over to you.
"Fucking hell! You mean I'm gonna be pushing paper work? I might as well go work in a damn office with four white walls and a poster that says 'hang in there, its almost Friday'." You placed your head in your hands.
"Hey! At least our paper work is more exciting than just running numbers." Tony said placing a hand on your back. He had been like a fsther to you, taking you in when you didnt have anywhere else to turn except the streets. Your own family had abandoned you at a young age and you had been leaning toward a dark path until Tony. "Besides with your expertise you dont have to sit behind a desk, your fingers arent blown off, you can still hack into stuff I'm sure."
"Tony we had a deal when I moved in. No hacking but you would train me and I could actually do good. Now look at me."
"I said no hacking the good guys, and if I remember correctly you were the one jumping close to the bomb not away from. I hate to be this way y/n but the only one to blame is yourself on this one."
"He would have been worst off than I am if not killed. I think I did the right thing. Besides you would have done the same thing if you had been closer." You sighed.
"Honey the diffrence with that is I have a supersuit, you wear a skin tight, spandex one peice, that I'm not a fan of." He laughted. Bruce had went to go get you some more pain killers to shoot into your IV.
"Tony if I were you I would shut up. Your starting to sound like you might actually love me, might even say your starting to act like a dad." You laughed pulling him into a hug.
"Shut it kid, cant let the others know I have a soft spot for the hacker orphan kid i took in all those years ago now can I." He said kissing the top of your head. "Do you need anything else before the drugs kick in and you pass out again?"
"Yes, can you please bring me my phone charger, laptop, and that really fluffy blanket that you and Pep got for me for Christmas."
"Dont ask to much of me now."
"I wouldnt be asking if you would just let me stay in my room. I hate it down here. I wanna be were the people are." You were starting to get loopy from whatever Bruce had given you.
"Ok little mermaid, get some rest I'll get your stuff." He laughed walking out the door letting you fall into a restless sleep.
You didnt know how long you hade been asleep but you woke up with a groan trying to sit up so you could atleast stretch your back from laying in one spot for to long. You flopped back down dramatically with a sigh. You could sense someine else in the room with you, you always knew when he was around.
"You dont have to hide in the shadows Loki. Your more than welcome to keep me company, you should know that by now." You smiled as the prince walked over and sat in the chair beside you. You could tell he hadnt been sleeping, his hair was fixed as always but his clothes looked worst for wear. He had on a plain black shirt and a pair of gray sweat pants, both of with had wrinkles in them either from tossing and turning or from not being changed in a few days.
"Whats wrong? And dont pull that 'nothing is wrong dear. I'm absolutly fine.' Bullshit. You look horrible." You reatched out to grab his hand. What you and Loki had was diffrent. You didnt just see his as a friend, he didnt just see you as that either though. You had spent many nights sitting up with the silver tounge man many nights laying on the couch watching movies, reading, talking about each of your pasts. He knew more about you than even Tony did.
"I'm still currently trying to wrap my head around why you pushed me out of the way and took the blow when you had a chance of dying from it. You shouldnt have been so thick headed my dear." He took your hand and raised it to his lips kissing the top of your hand.
"Loki." You sighed rolling your head to look back up at the celing. "You would have been hurt alot wordt than I am now, that blast could have killed you."
"I am a god y/n, that blast wouldnt have caused me nearly as much damage as it did you." His voice raised slightly.
"Thats what you think. You think that because you are "immortal" that you can take anything thats thrown at you. That no one really cares about you, that you wouldnt be missed? So why not try to take a blow from a bomb? My god your so stupid sometimes."
"I know I can. Norns y/n I've jumped into space, been brain washed, tried to take over New York, gotten smashed around by the Hulk. I was raised with Thor, he doesnt really go easy on a person. What I'm saying is I dont understand why you, a mear midguardian, would sacrifice themselves for me. If anything would have happened-"
"Nothing did happen though. I'm fine-"
"You have steel sticking from your leg, theres no telling when or even if you'll be able to walk again, and there are highly server burns that will leave scares. You cannot sit there and tell me that you are fine."
"Your right it does suck that I'm jot gonna be able to pull off shorts or a bikini anymore."
"This isnt a joke y/n. You almost died!" He finally yelled.
"And i would do it a thousand times over if that ment saving your damn ass again!" You shouted back.
"Why though?! Why me y/n? I've done horrible things, killed people! My life is meaningless." Tears had sprang to his eyes as he looked away.
"Because I love you God damn it!" You stopped suddenly your jaw dropping at the admission that you hadnt ment for him to hear. His head jerked back to you.
"What?" Shock was all over his face as he stood to walk closer to you. "What did you just say?"
"Because I love you Loki Odinson. Because if you were to die I dont think I would be able to go on living. Because even if you see all the bad things that you've done I can look pass that amd see all the good that you are doing." You reached up placing a hand on his cheek and wiping away a tear.
"I love you too y/n. I have since the day I met you. The girl that didnt care what anyone said when she spent time with me. The girl that can see through every face i put on. I love you so much darling." He placed his hand on your face and leaning down gently kissing your lips.
It felt like you thought it always should you felt electricity run through your body and the two of you connected. It was like getting a breath after not being able to for so long. He pulled away smiling at you.
"What do we tell the others?" He asked laying on with bed with you being easy with your leg. He placed his arm around your middle and pulled you as close as he could.
"I honestly dont care what we tell them. They can figure it out themseves for all I care." You smiled lacing your fingers with his, you yawned placing your head on his shoulder closing your eyes.
"Sleep now my Dove, I will be here when you wake." He felt your gentle breath slow as you fell asleep, the rhythm you of your breath lulling him into his own sleep.
Tony and Bruce walked in the next morning stopping dead at the sight in front of them. You and Loki were still cuddled on the small bed sleeping peacefully.
"Should we wake them up?" Bruce asked looking at Tony.
"Na, let them sleep. Dont want to let them know that we know." Tony saod grabbing Bruce's arm and turning to walk back out of the door.
~~~~
Tag List:
@kgirardin
@sophlubbwriting
@supbeeches
@high-functioning-lokipath
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emiefaunwrites · 3 years
Note
Hi @emiefaunwrites! I’m in a little bit of a mood to be mean today haha! I know we’ve seen close calls happen with the Kuwata family, but I’ve been thinking about how they would react if one of their best friends (Mondo, Chihiro, Yasuhiro, Hina, or Sakura) had a close call. If you don’t want to do something like that, here’s a much nicer one;
Taka and Leon at the arcade together
Heyyy!
Ahhhh lets do it! I've had a loooooong think about who I would choose. And I was hoping you wouldn't mind id, for this one, I used Takaaki? I just...I have a thing in my head that would work and unless I get it out, I won't be able to move on haha! It just WILL NOT let me think of something for anyone else!!
I'm happy to write about one of the bezzies as well! Ask me again and I'm sure that my brain will give me a break and do the actual ask that I'm given!!
Trigger warnings for crime and gunshots underneath.
So I hope you enjoy and thanks so much as always for the ask!!
*************************
• Taka has always had that worry in the back of his mind that something would happen to his father.
• Takaaki being a policeman puts him in dangerous situations quite often, especially given how he's always assigned the hardest cases.
• So of course, he's had to have the hard conversation with his son about life after Takaaki.
• A conversation no father wants to have with his young, teenage boy.
• But up until now, he's managed to avoid too much harm - bumps and scrapes are about the worst he's had.
• Until he's put on a high profile case.
• Taka and Leon are sat in the University common room, chatting with their friends.
• And Taka's phone starts ringing.
• It's Mondo, telling him to check the hometown news.
• Of course, Leon whips out his phone and finds the channel.
• On screen is a stand off scene between the police and a group gang that have been committing violent crimes openly over the last few weeks.
• There are dozens of police, hidden behind their cars wielding guns.
• And of course they both recognise Taka's father.
• Leon immediately looks at Taka to see a look of absolute terror on his face - slipping his phone into one hand so he can take one of Taka's hands in his own.
• They watch as the police slowly advance, watch as the gang aim their guns fearlessly with a chilling confidence.
• And then the first shot is fired - and the chaos begins.
• The camera doesn't know where to look, flying back and forth to try and make sense while the reporter tries to narrate everything that's happening...
• 'What's this? A policeman has been hit!'
• Everyone's blood runs cold as the camera pans quickly to show Takaaki drop to the ground, being dragged behind a car by his fellow officers.
• Taka is on his feet immediately, running full speed out the room and towards the main entrance.
• Leon speeds after him, catching him at their car to slow him down and to get in the passenger seat.
• 'I can't let you drive like this.'
• It's a long drive back home and Taka watches the news for updates on his fathers condition.
• Amazingly, despite being injured, Takaaki kept shooting and took down three of the gang members before passing out.
• He was taken to hospital for his injuries and so Taka immediately called the hospital to say he was on the way.
• They tell him his father has gone into surgery to remove the bullet from his ribs but they can't give him anymore updates over the phone.
• 'W-will he be alright?!'
• 'Mr Ishimaru, we really can't...'
• 'WILL HE BE ALRIGHT?!'
• 'He lost a lot of blood. We aren't sure if the bullet hit any vital organs. Until the surgeons get in to assess the damage...we really can't tell.'
• The remaining twenty minutes of the drive are spent in silence - Leon knowing better than to say anything right now.
• And he lets Taka run ahead of him once they've parked - catching up to him as soon as he can.
• Takaaki will still be in surgery for a couple of hours at least so all they can do is wait.
• Mondo, Chi and Hiro all make their way to the hospital, taking it in turns to cradle Taka.
• But once Taka's OCD compulsions kick in, Leon has to take over.
• Letting him count under his breath into his chest and tapping rhythms into Leon's palm - Leon shaking his head at the confused looks their friends give them so as not to ask right now.
• Only one of Takaaki's colleagues comes to check - the one who dragged him back.
• Taka's uncle and Takaaki's only friend in the force - Shinjiro Hamasaki.
• He tries to offer words of comfort to his friend's son, but sees he's in no mindframe to listen.
• Three hours later, the doctor comes out to tell them that Takaaki's surgery is over and that he's expected to make a full recovery.
• Leon and Taka are allowed to go see him as soon as they can and sit by his bed waiting for him to wake up.
• Taka won't let go of his father's hand and so taps rhythms there instead - choking back tears the longer he doesn't wake up.
• And as soon as Takaaki's eyes flutter open, Taka bursts into tears and presses his father's palm on his cheek.
• The counting is louder now as relief floods him, rocking back and forth as he sobs into his father's palm.
• And even through the grogginess, Takaaki can still find strength to tap his fingers against the back on his son's head - the way he used to when things got too tough.
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marjansmarwani · 3 years
Text
would’ve loved you for a lifetime
Tarlos || 7.6k || ao3
Prompt: Characters are secretly married and one of them is hurt at work 
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The story of how TK and Carlos came together, and how they almost missed out on their future before it even got a chance to start.
For the wonderful @acejuddryder on her birthday! I hope you enjoy this AC and that you have a day as good as you deserve 💕
I came across this prompt a while ago and @bellakitse encouraged me to write it and I am so glad she did! I have been wanting to do a non-linear narrative for a while, and this worked perfectly for that. Shoutouts to both @officereyes and @firefighterstrand for helping me with bits and editing for me, you’re champs 🥰
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Judd watched as TK went about repacking the first aid kit with a smile on his face, humming to himself. This had been going on for the majority of their 24-hour shift now and in hour 23, Judd’s patience was finally up. 
“Okay kid, what gives? You’ve been grinning like the butcher’s dog all shift.” 
TK glanced up from his work, startled, “I have not.” 
“Yeah, you have dude,” Marjan informed him as she tossed him more supplies, “want to fill us in?” 
“It’s not just today either,” Paul noted, coming around from the other side of the engine, “you’ve been suspiciously chipper for a few days now.” 
“Can’t a guy just be happy without getting the third degree? Jeez.” 
“There’s happy, and then there’s this.” 
“You too Mateo, really? I thought you had my back, man.” 
“Don’t guilt-trip the probie,” Paul admonished, throwing his polishing rag at TK for emphasis, “just tell us what’s up.” 
TK was saved the trouble of dodging the question by the sound of his phone ringing in his pocket. 
“Saved by the bell,” he declared as he fished it out of his pocket and stepped to the back of the rig for some semblance of privacy. 
“Don’t count on it lasting,” Judd called after him, “we’re getting right back into this as soon as you are done.” 
The others returned to their tasks, eager to finish with the end of their shift in sight. Their focus was soon broken by the sound of a gasp and a clattering sound from where TK stood. They all looked over to see TK, standing on the other side of the engine bay, expression stricken and body trembling. 
“TK?” Paul asked hesitantly but got no response. Not even an indication that their teammate had heard him. They crossed over as a group but Judd got there first and reached down to grab the abandoned phone. The call was still going. He watched as Marjan approached TK, comforting hands reaching for his and Paul reminded him to breathe in his even, calming voice as he lifted the abandoned phone to his ear.
“Hello?” 
“Mr. Strand?” 
“No, this is his friend. He seems to be...a little out of sorts right now.” 
The voice on the other end sighed, “that’s understandable. Would you please just inform him that his husband should be heading into surgery shortly and that he should check in upon his arrival so that the doctor can give him an update?” 
Husband? Judd was so stuck on that word he almost missed the rest of the sentence. He managed to unfreeze his brain long enough to answer, “Of course, I’ll make sure he gets there. What hospital?” 
“St. David’s.” 
“Thank you.” 
Judd hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment. He felt the eyes of the team on him but he took a steadying breath before he looked up. When he did he ignored the curious gazes of the others and looked directly at TK, “they said I should tell you that your husband should be heading into surgery shortly, and that you should check-in when you get there so a doctor can update you.” 
TK nodded, but said nothing else. No explanation, no objection that they were wrong; that he didn’t have a husband. 
Because as far as Judd had known as of a few minutes ago, he didn’t. 
“I need to go,” TK finally said and his voice was so pained it almost hurt to hear, “I need to get there.” 
“I hate to break it to you man,” Paul said gently, “but you are in no shape to drive right now.” 
“I’ll take him.” 
The words were out of his mouth before he had even fully processed them. But when the eyes of the team fell to him, he repeated them: “I’ll take him. Clear it with Cap?” 
The others nodded and he hoped they had picked up on what was left unsaid: tell Owen that he apparently has a son-in-law he doesn’t know about; tell the Captain that TK is a wreck but that Judd had him. 
“There’s only a bit of shift left, we should be able to hold down the fort. Go, and keep us updated.” 
Judd nodded at Paul and the others before reaching out a hand to put on TK’s shoulder, “C’mon kid, let’s go.” 
His voice and guiding hand were gentle, and TK barely nodded before allowing himself to be led out of the station and to Judd’s truck. He climbed into the passenger seat silently and didn’t utter a word for the whole drive. All Judd could do was shoot him concerned glances and try to push back all the unanswered questions in his mind. Now was not the time for answers —his one and only concern was making sure TK was okay. The rest could come later. 
----------
They started on a Tuesday. 
As things went it wasn’t a particularly notable day for a beginning, but there wasn’t much notable about their start. 
They were two people colliding; contrasting desires meeting in the in between, in the common ground. They wanted different ends but the means suited them both just fine. It was hot and heavy; it was rough and quick. It was needy and physical and everything they wanted (if only for a moment). 
Then eventually, it was more. 
Not at first —it wasn’t more for a long time. For months it was just blowing off steam, just mind blowing sex. There were a few dates of varying success, but they continued their dance around each other and the feelings they both had. Then TK got shot and they both watched their potential future teetering on the edge, ready to topple over with the weight of uncertainty. Eventually TK woke up to the chaos of adjusting to life again and a solar storm, and in the quiet that followed the chaos they found themselves in each other. 
From there it was simple: after the start they had it couldn’t be anything but. In all that time they had gotten to know each without really meaning to and now they found themselves fitting together like a pair of gloves; fine on their own, but infinitely better together. They slipped into rhythms like they did embraces, and they were happy. 
They dedicated time to getting to know what they were without an audience and without really realizing it, they had become a secret. A badly kept one, but a secret none-the-less. They existed in the peripherals, their life together a separate entity from their lives as seen by the rest of the world. 
From the outskirts they became TK and Carlos and as time went on, there was less and less space between their bodies, their names, and their hearts. 
And with each passing Tuesday, they grew closer. 
---------
Judd kept stealing glances at TK. 
They were in the waiting room of the hospital, and TK had spent every moment since they sat down anxiously bouncing his leg while he fiddled with the necklace he always wore. 
“Hey, it’s gonna be okay.” 
“You don’t know that Judd.”
His voice was strained and quiet, so unlike the TK Judd was used to. He followed his gaze to the door the nurse had informed them the doctor would be coming through to give TK an update. That was nearly 10 minutes ago and TK’s eyes hadn’t left the door once. 
Judd had so many questions but wasn’t sure how to broach the topic. How do you ask your friend about a spouse you didn’t know they had when they are full of fear of losing them? 
He was saved the trouble of trying when TK spoke beside him, “I know what you’re thinking, just go ahead and ask.” 
His voice was resigned and Judd felt bad for even thinking about the question, but he did need to know. 
“You have a husband. Is it...someone we know?” 
TK pulled his glance away from the door long enough to glance at Judd. After a moment, he nodded: “Carlos.” 
“How long?” 
“Not long.” 
“Are you…” he began, but trailed off. He wasn’t sure what to ask. He had been leaning towards “happy,” but that seemed wrong in this context.  He didn’t know what the right thing to say was;  he had no idea how to approach this situation. He wished Grace was here. She was so much better at this kind of stuff.
They were quiet again until TK spoke, “I love him Judd.” 
The admission was made quietly, TK’s voice low and sad. Judd turned to look at him and TK met his eyes as he continued, “I need him in my life. I don’t know what I’d do without him. I can’t lose him, Judd.” 
Judd swallowed as he studied TK’s expression. It was full of a familiar fear; one that he had felt anytime he thought about the mere idea of losing Grace. He reached out a hand and gave TK’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. He knew better to promise that it would be alright — they had no way of knowing that. Instead he settled on a truth he knew. 
“You’ll get through this,” he told TK firmly, “and you won’t be alone.” 
--------
Time passed and they began to learn the mysteries of each other past the physical. Before TK knew just the spot to kiss to make Carlos moan each and every time, now he could tell you the name of his childhood dog and that when he was 5, he had wanted to be an astronaut. 
Carlos still knew all the ways to make TK melt under his touch but now he also knew how TK had pushed himself in the fire academy so he could feel worthy of the legacy of being the legendary Owen Strand’s son. Their secrets emerged from the shadows into open hearts, more and more revealing themselves with each passing day.
Stolen hours became endless evenings and frantic hookups became languid movie nights. Time passed and they began to feel at home with each other. Soon it became normal for TK to show up at Carlos’s home at the end of his shift as it slowly became more of a home to him. But, then again, the person who lived there was starting to feel an awful lot like home too. 
Their connection was generally known; they weren’t trying to sneak around. But while seeing them dancing at the bar or grabbing lunch at a food truck became more and more commonplace, the depth of their relationship was still a secret from most —including them, for a time. Michelle likely knew, Paul surely suspected; but the fact that they were falling more and more in love each passing day was a surprise to even them. 
It was TK who said it first; in a casual moment without a second thought. Carlos nearly tripped over his own feet when he heard it, but it had been like a dam breaking and soon it became commonplace, almost like breathing for them both. 
Time went on and their love grew. Time went on and they grew together —learning each other's edges and finding out where they fit. They were a puzzle, slowly coming together until the right piece was found. From there, it was a quick solve before the final picture revealed itself. 
And what a picture it was, Carlos thought to himself as he lay in his bed, watching TK sleeping soundly beside him. There were times he had to stop himself from reaching out to touch him, to make sure he was real. Sleep didn’t come easily to the other man and once it was found it was easily lost, so Carlos refrained, allowing his gaze to do the work for him. After everything he could scarcely believe they were here, after everything he couldn’t believe that they had found each other.  
These were his favorite nights, he decided. The ones where he got to fall asleep to the sight of TK beside him, the nights he was lulled to sleep by the sound of his breathing. He knew he wanted more nights like this — really, he wanted every night to be like this. 
But it was too soon for that, so for now he would savor the nights they had.
[continue reading on ao3]
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theangstyboiblog · 3 years
Text
Army Days
Requested by @anilocen: Hi there ! I saw you were taking reader requests ! Sorry I don’t really know how this works since I never talked to somebody on Tumblr Anyway, I really like the hurt/comfort genre and I wondered if you could write something about Silva ? You could use Dowling as caretaker or a character of your own creation, whatever suits you. I you don’t have ideas about the storyline, what about Silva got in the way of someone’s magic and got injured and needs medical attention ? Thanks for taking requests, that’s really cool 😎 and sorry if you found mistakes as English is not my mother language Have a good day!
Ahhhhhhh! As soon as I read this I was like, “Angst, angst, angst, angst!” I am also a fan of hurt/comfort and am behind this 100%. I wanna just say that I was exhausted when I wrote this and my only medical experience for this is coming from M.A.S.H. so don’t yell at me for medical inaccuracies lol. I also wrote this in one hour and didn’t edit so… And did I totally name the head nurse Jareth due to inspiration from Labyrinth? Yes, yes, I did. I’m gonna go to bed now. Thanks for requesting! <3
Pairing: Saul Silva x Nurse!Y/N
Warnings: None… Idk… Do I need to warn about angst???
Word Count:
Short Summary: Saul’s been hurt by a burned one before. Takes place before Saul, Andreas, Farah and Ben are picked for Rosalind’s special team.
  It finally happened. Everyday you worked countless hours nursing and tending wounded specialists and fairy teams in the medical center. And everyday you prayed that you would never see his face, his body being carried through the doors.
“Wounded incoming!” a yell came from the entrance as you finished redressing your patient’s wound.  You taped the bandage down quickly and stood, pulling off your gloves and stepping away from the bed to turn and look at the hustle and bustle coming from the crowd at the door. Several stretchers were carried in, set down in the triage area the on-call staffers setting into a quick rhythm of assessing injuries and deciding who needed immediate attention.
You jogged towards them. One of the doctors waved to you.
“We need more Zanbaq!” she called to you. With a nod, you stepped around the crowded area and headed to the supply cabinets, hurrying to gather several bottles of the unguent. You made your way back through triage, handing them out to everyone who needed them.
“Y/N!” the head nurse, Jareth, called your name and you ran over to him. A young man, covered in dirt and blood, writhed on the stretcher next to him. The familiar black veins were already inching over his face.
“What do you need?” you asked, looking over the patient.
Jareth nodded to the last bottle of Zanbaq in your hands. “There’s too many wounds here. You take that side, I’ll handle this one. Just apply and move on. Gotta stop the infection.” Without another word, you got to word, dipping gauze in the golden liquid and dabbing against the open, ash infested wounds. You ignored the screams around you. You ignored the way your patient whined out, hissing and trying to move away from you. You could stop and soothe him, but that would waste time and just drag it out more which would only torture the both of you. Jareth, however, wasn’t of the same philosophy. He stopped his work and held the man down as you continued. “Hey, hey,” he said, pressing your patient down to the floor as you treated a wicked gash along his thigh. “I know it hurts, but you have to bear with it, focus on something else. What’s your name?”
“It hurts,” the man moaned.
“I know,” Jareth said. “I know it hurts, but we’re going to make it better. I’m Jareth, this is Y/N,” he nodded to you and you glanced towards the man’s face with a nod. “What happened?”
The man’s teeth ground together. “Burned one pack. T-took out my team.”
“What’s your name?” Jareth asked.
“B—” a sudden hiss stole his breath as you pulled up his shirt, more scrapes and gashes coming into view. “Ben,” he said after a moment. “Ben Harvey.”
Your hand stopped. You knew that name. Your eyes went to Ben’s face, recognizing him as you imagined him without blood and mud caked over his skin. He didn’t seem to recognize you. You’d never really met each other, only seen him from a distance as you shared stolen moments with his teammate.
You looked around at the chaos around you, searching. You found nothing. No sign of his face.
He’s not here. He’s not here. If he’s not here, then he’s okay. Everything is okay.
“Y/N?” Jareth’s voice called to you and you turned back to him. He didn’t ask what was wrong, didn’t question. He knew something had rattled you and the crew couldn’t afford to have anyone rattled right now. Jareth simply reached over and took your bottle of Zanbaq and set it next to his own. He nodded to the door. “Clear your head. Now,” he ordered.
You said nothing back. Didn’t fight it. He was right. Your hands shook as you stood up, moving out of the way for another nurse to take your place. Pounding pressure filled your ears. You slipped out the doors into the cool of night, a rush of freezing air filling your lungs. White smoke blew out from your lips as you breathed in deep.
“Damn it,” you hissed under your breath. You’d been doing this for two years and you’d never frozen up like that since your probation and review period.
Stepping out of the way of the door, you closed your eyes and tilted your head back.
If he’s not here, then he’s okay. Everything is okay.
“Another bus incoming!” yelled a voice and your eyes flashed open, a new way of adrenaline taking hold of you. The roar of an engine filled the air and you stepped out from the shadow of the building and looked down the main road that ran through the camp. Bright headlights blinded you for a moment before the trauma bus pulled to the right and came to a stop in front of the triage entrance. Your head was suddenly clear. You ran around to the rear of the bus and pulled yourself up as the doors flew open.
“What do you have?” you asked the field medic as you moved inside. The scent of blood, sweat and ash filled your nose.
“Five wounded, 2 infected. One’s gonna need a surgeon. Has a piece lodged in his stomach.”
“Which one?” you asked, already starting a list in your head of who would take precedence over who. The medic pointed to the head of the bus and you moved down the narrow aisle quickly. A bad feeling grew in your stomach as you approached the stretcher. There were several signs you’d read to read over the years. Silence and no movement were never good signs.
As you reached the stretcher, you looked over the soldier, specialist patch giving away their training. They were blanketed in mud, ash, and blood. A thick piece of burned on, perhaps an inch wide stuck out from the side of their stomach, the wound packed with gauze. You adjusted your hands along the abdomen assessing the damage. Still no movement. You sighed and reached up, pressing your fingers to the man’s throat. Nothing.
No, wait, it was there, but it was weak. “I have a weak pulse here!” you yelled over your shoulder before turning back to shine a light over his face. “We need to get him insi---" Your voice died in your throat as you looked over his face, recognizing the man laying before you. “Saul…” Your chest constricted. Footsteps pounded down the aisle as the medics joined you, pushing past you to get to the ends of the stretched, lifting him up as you somehow found the ability and thought to move out of the way. They carried him out. You followed.
No, no, no.
“Take him straight to surgery,” you ordered, panic in your voice as they moved him into the medical center. Activity rushed around you as the rest of the on-call staff surrounded you. Their voices blended together and if they were talking to you, you didn’t know it. You couldn’t comprehend it. Your eyes were too focused on the man on the stretcher. As a group you moved down the aisle to the hallway that led to surgery. You glanced at the double doors at the end, blood pounding through your ears.
You wanted to yell at them to hurry up. Couldn’t they see they were taking too long? They needed to hurry. Several pairs of eyes glanced back at you and you realized you must have said something aloud. No one said anything else to you, and the pace quickened. You sped up as the team finally reached the doors. They carried Saul through, the on-call surgery nurse closing the door behind them. You began to follow.
Jareth stepped in front of you, pushing you back gently yet with enough force to stop you cold. “Y/N…” he said looking you over, gaze empathetic yet calculating.
Your hands shook, your throat felt drier than a desert in the summer. “I need to be in there,” you told him, trying to move past him. He didn’t budge. “Jareth---”
“You’re involved with him?” he asked, plainly, no judgement in his voice and you knew what he was getting at. Relationships weren’t forbidden. But when it came to medical treatment, romantic involvement always made things… complicated.
“You don’t understand,” you said, tears starting to fall. Either you didn’t notice or you didn’t bother to wipe them away as anger and fear flared through you. If it had been any other day, anyone else going into surgery you wouldn’t be like this, Jareth wouldn’t be stopping you like this. You wanted to blame him, the rational part of you knew he was doing his job, but the other part could only see him as he was now, standing between you and the door you so desperately wanted to run through.
Jareth set a hand on your shoulder. “I do. And you know I can’t let you in there. Not like this.”
“I need to---”
“No. Y/N you can’t help him right now. You need to get yourself back together or get out of the way,” Jareth said, his voice not unkind yet final. He stepped back, looking at you with eyes full of pity. “I’m sorry,” he said, before he turned his back and stepped through the door, closing it behind him, leaving you in the hallway alone.  
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doc-pickles · 3 years
Text
you’re the one that I want (at the end of the day)
Jo endures the longest day ever, because nothing can ever be simple for her and Alex can it?
hey friends! this is a little follow up fic to half a heart (without you) that I posted last week. anyways hope you enjoy :-) also thinking I might want to make this into a mini series so if you have any suggestions/prompts for this universe let me know.
xoxo nina
She knows, earlier than the last time she thinks, but she definitely knows.
And yet, despite knowing (or at least thinking she knows) she does nothing. Because if she’s honest with herself she’s a little scared.
They weren’t planning this, in fact she doesn’t even know when it happened. Liam is 3 and Alexis and Eli are about to come out for the summer. And her and Alex are both in really good places at work and they finally have a good rhythm down, she doesn’t want to disturb that.
And another baby would definitely disturb that.
But of course, the longer she pushes it off the more obvious it becomes. Carina is constantly eyeing her these days, prompting Jo to hurry away from any lingering interactions with her. Link is starting to get suspicious at how often she’s turning down drinks with him, even going so far as to pack a flask in his work bag in hopes of enticing her to drink.
And don’t even get her started on Alex.
He hadn’t been around until she was halfway through her pregnancy last time, but the man is observant and can obviously sense that something has changed with his wife. He’s been treating her like a porcelain doll, like one wrong move on his end will break her in half, and she hates every minute of it.
It’s probably the lack of coffee that’s giving her away or maybe it’s her refusal to let him anywhere near her aching chest or it could be the way she’s falling asleep as soon as they get in the car every night. Whatever it is, Jo knows she should take a test and just get it over with already so she can tell her husband.
However, not everything is that easy as Jo learns.
She’s about to check in on some of her patients when she gets a 911 page to the trauma bay. Even without context, the page has her heart plummeting in her chest.
Jo rushes downstairs as fast as she can, nausea rising in her chest as she reaches her destination. There’s police everywhere and she can’t seem to find anyone she knows despite the area being filled with doctors and nurses.
“Get your hands off me Hunt, I’m not going anywhere until I see my wife!”
The sound of her husband's voice does little to calm her mounting anxiety as she rushes towards the room where she’d heard him shouting from.
“Oh my god!”
Standing in the doorway of the trauma room Jo is greeted by the sight of bloodied sheets and Alex sitting on a gurney with a frown across his face. He grimaces as soon as he catches her horrified expression.
“It’s not as bad as it looks, babe.”
“You have a scalpel sticking out of your shoulder!”
“Well that’s one less thing they’ll have to bring into the OR.”
“Alex!”
Hunt, who’s standing between the married couple, excuses himself from the room as soon as things begin to heat up. Jo keeps her position by the door, arms crossed as she stares down her husband.
“What the hell happened?!”
“A patient went a little crazy and lunged at Helm with a scalpel.”
“So you jumped in front of her?”
“Hunt and I held him off, I happened to get a scalpel to the shoulder.”
“You have kids!”
“I do seem to remember them, the scalpel is in my shoulder not my head.”
“You have a wife!”
“Yes and may I say she’s looking exceptionally beautiful today,” Alex attempts to grin at her but it ends up as a pained groan.
“You have a wife and kids who are depending on you to come home! You can’t just throw yourself into situations like that,” Jo finally steps forward, quickly closing the distance between them as her hand reaches up to cup Alex’s cheek. “God, you scared the crap out of me. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Hunt is worried about what this thing may have nicked going in though,” Jo lets his words sink in, her breath catching in her throat as she processes them. “I’m going to be fine, stop overthinking it.”
Jo begins to run through all of the things that could possibly go wrong in surgery, her anxiety mounting as she considered the possibility of losing her husband over something as stupid as a scalpel to the shoulder.
“You could bleed out or have permanent muscle damage or… or anything,” Jo holds a hand over her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut as she tries to quell the uneasy feeling in her stomach. She knows then that she has to tell him, even if she isn’t entirely sure herself she needs to tell him. “I’m pregnant!”
“What?!”
Jo opens her eyes to take in Alex’s shocked expression, “I mean I think I am, I haven’t taken a test but I’m pretty sure. I’m only a few weeks along if I am.”
“And you chose now, before I go into surgery to get a scalpel taken out of my shoulder, to tell me you might be pregnant?”
Jo shrugs, tears welling in her eyes as looks at her husband, “I just wanted to make sure you knew so you didn’t do something stupid like die.”
Alex reaches his hand out to grab hers, squeezing it tightly as he attempts to comfort her.
“I’m going to be fine, I already told you this. Please don't stress yourself out,” Owen comes back into the room, fixing Alex with a telling gaze. “Hunt only agreed to hold off until you came down so I’ve gotta go now. Go and get a blood test while I’m up there. And call the kids for me please.”
Jo nods, leaning down to press a kiss to Alex’s cheek before Owen begins to wheel him out of the room, “I love you!”
“Love you too. I’ll see you soon.”
~
Time seems to pass by slowly after that. Jo calls Izzie and the twins who almost jump on a plane before she talks them out of it and assures them that Alex will call as soon as he can. She sends Liam home with Meredith for the night, running downstairs to smother her son in kisses before she returns to the OB floor.
When she settles herself into the chair across from Carina the other woman meets her with a knowing grin, “I was wondering how long you would push it off this time.”
“Don’t get me started,” Jo groans, running a hand down her face. “At least I’m not throwing up this time but my boobs are killing me.”
“Well, maybe you are further along then you realize,” Carina stands from her desk, extending a hand towards Jo. “Let’s go see if we can find your bambino on an ultrasound.”
Jo gladly accepts Carina’s proffered hand, smoothing down her scrubs as she stands, “Anything to keep my mind off of my stupid husband who went and got himself stabbed.”
~
By the time 9 PM rolls around Jo has been sitting anxiously by his bedside for almost two hours. Her head is resting on the edge of his hospital bed, one hand gently clasped over Alex’s as she attempts to sleep. It’s a futile attempt though since she’s gotten up to puke every half hour like clockwork.
“Finally getting sick of me?”
Jo opens her eyes in confusion, blinking up at Alex a few times before she sits up in realization, “You’re awake!”
“My beauty sleep was interrupted by your constant running to the bathroom,” Alex runs his free hand through Jo’s hair with a smirk. “Are you okay?”
“Me?! You just got out of surgery,” Jo squeezes his hand with a tired smile. “Everything went fine by the way, Hunt is optimistic that you’ll make a full recovery. Liam is at Meredith’s, probably keeping everyone up. And I talked to the twins, Alexis and Eli want you to call them as soon as you feel up to it.”
“And you?”
“What about me?”
Alex and Jo share a smile with each other, both knowing exactly what he’s asking about,
“You’ve been throwing up the whole time you’ve been here, you can’t fool me.”
“About that… I had Carina do a full work up, turns out I’m not a few weeks pregnant after all,” Jo shrugs, as if the answer she’d given wasn’t a big deal.
Alex stares at Jo, waiting for her to continue for a moment and groaning loudly when she doesn't finish her statement, “You know you could be a bit nicer to me, I was stabbed today.”
“Mmm well I am pregnant… I’m just almost sixteen weeks along,” Alex’s bewildered expression is enough to bring a smirk to her face. “I really didn’t have any symptoms until two weeks ago, I honestly thought I was maybe five or six weeks but there’s a little one moving around in there. And they’re making me eat my words about not throwing up, as you can see.”
Jo wants to say more but before she has the chance Alex is pulling her down to kiss her sweetly. When they break apart, they’re both grinning widely, “Kinda makes getting stabbed worth it.”
“Yeah well don’t even think about doing it again. Now you’ve got one more person waiting for you at home.”
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rowaelinrambling · 4 years
Text
epiphany; 1/1
Epiphany; watch you breathe in, watch you breathing out, out
For the third time that Tuesday, Doctor Aelin Galathynius checked on room 122.
Unlike some of her patient’s rooms, 122 was bright and airy. Full of flowers. And, more often than not, the two visitor chairs were occupied. The second, smaller chair was usually taken up by a rotating cast of friends - the dark-haired, gruff one, the blonde ray of sunshine, and on his breaks, Doctor Gavriel Shepard. The first chair was consistently occupied by a silver-haired, quiet man. Rowan Whitethorn. Aelin had been his wife’s doctor for the past three weeks, but other than asking for updates, he rarely spoke.
Aelin’s resolve was strong after working as a doctor for more than ten years. She’d done her residency under Gavriel. He had always been upfront with her. Frank, especially after she experienced her first patient death. She’d never get used to it, he’d said. She’d learn to push through; to not let it affect her personally. Not keep her up at night. She’d found that he was mostly right.
Certain patients still got to her. Lyria Whitethorn was one.
Two days into her honeymoon, hiking in the mountains, she had slipped on some mud. Slipped. It could have been comical. It could have been a scraped knee. Maybe even a mild concussion. Instead, it had been a long fall into a ravine. No cell phone coverage delayed her treatment. By the time she was airlifted to the trauma hospital where Aelin worked, she was barely alive. She underwent emergency surgery to fix what they could - Aelin hadn’t been able to even find her right kidney, there was so much damage - and another followup ortho surgery to repair her broken leg. Now, two weeks later, she laid in room 122, comatose, not breathing on her own, not able to eat, drink, or speak. Her new husband left her side only to shower and eat. When he remembered.
“Any change?” A quiet voice asked. Aelin snapped from her reverie, turning to find Gavriel at her side. She shook her head.
“Nothing. Everything holding steady. But no improvement.”
Gavriel nodded, taking a deep breath, before touching her arm and heading into the room. He clapped a gentle hand on Rowan’s back, murmuring to him quietly. Aelin felt like an intruder, but as she had in the past three weeks, she couldn’t tear herself away from the room. She had other patients, but she’d already assigned rounding duty to her resident, who would report back mid-morning. Anything else - short of a trauma - could wait.
Aelin’s cousin, an anesthesiologist at the hospital, materialized at her side. “Any change?” She shook her head, reaching over to take the coffee he held out to her. Aedion sighed. “This one is rough.” Aelin nodded. An understatement.
Aedion glanced at the coffee in his own hand. “Why don’t you give this to him?” He suggested, nodding toward Rowan. “When I came by before visitor hours, he was already here. He must be exhausted.” The nurses had been looking the other way when Rowan appeared in the hospital outside of visitor’s hours. Like Aelin, much of the hospital ICU staff waited with baited breath for Lyria to wake up. Aelin wasn’t the only person who lingered outside of room 122, hoping for a change.
Aelin nodded, taking the cup. She took a deep breath, fixing - what she hoped was - a brave look on her face. She wasn’t sure if Rowan Whitethorn was aware of all the staff pulling for he and his wife, but Aelin was determined to be professional in front of him. She strode into the silent room, placing the fresh cup of coffee on the arm rest of Rowan’s chair. He looked up at her, his eyes bloodshot.
“I…I figured you needed this,” she said lamely, pointing at the cup unnecessarily. He blinked, a tired smile appearing on his face.
“I do.”
“I have a surgery,” Gavriel said, glancing at his watch and standing from the visitor’s chair. “Doctor Galathynius, can I speak with you in the hall for a moment?” Aelin nodded, following him toward the door. Once in the hallway, Gavriel pulled the door to room 122 closed. “We have to start talking to him about options.”
Aelin knew this. The nurses knew this. She was fairly confident Rowan Whitethorn knew this as well. Three weeks with no change. Lyria had no living will. As her husband, Rowan would have to make any decisions for her. Aelin swallowed, aware of the lump in her throat.
“Do we need to get someone else on the case?” Gavriel asked gently. “There’s no shame in it.”
Aelin shook her head. “I don’t want to change anything more for him,” She said firmly. “He’s been through enough. I’m fine.”
Gavriel nodded. “Just let me know if you’re not.”
“I’ll have the neurologist come up today to do the check. He usually leaves to get something to eat around one, so maybe then…” She trailed off, looking at her mentor for confirmation. He nodded stiffly.
“I’ll make sure he’s not here for it.”
They both knew what the neurologist would say, but neither wanted to say it out loud. The last check had showed minimal activity. This one, more likely than not, would show zero. Neither Aelin nor Gavriel wanted Rowan in the room to hear it. Aelin nodded, looking down toward the other end of the hall. Her resident was coming toward them. Mid-morning, already.
“Keep me updated.” Gavriel requested. Aelin nodded again. She mentally shook herself as Gavriel headed toward the operating room. Her resident was in front of her almost immediately.
“Everyone looked good today. Mrs. Smith’s pressure was a little elevated, but I’ll check in on her again around lunchtime.”
Aelin nodded distractedly, glancing back through the windows of room 122. Rowan held the cup of coffee in his hand, his eyes still trained on his wife. Her eyes were closed, her chest rising and falling with the noises of the machines surrounding her.
“Put in a neuro check for Lyria Whitethorn for one this afternoon, please.” Aelin requested quietly. “And make sure no one speaks to her husband before I have the chance to review it.” Without another word, she turned and strode down the hall. The two nurses at the ICU station looked up at her as she passed, but their eyes soon drifted back to room 122. No one on the floor wanted the outcome they all knew was inevitable.
She was nearly around the corner when she heard the code. Terror coiled in her gut as she pivoted and ran back toward the ICU rooms, the telltale light blinking outside of room 122. Two nurses were already pushing a crash cart into the room, another pulling Rowan gently by the elbow from the room. He didn’t resist. This was the third time this week.
He locked eyes with Aelin as she rushed back into the room. Time seemed to slow as blue met green. The first time Lyria had coded, his eyes had been panicked, rimmed with desperation. This time, they were tired. As if he knew the same thing the doctors and nurses did.
Aelin ripped her gaze from his, pushing into the room where the code team was already attempting to revive her patient. She gazed at the monitor, confirming charge values as the team worked. On the third try, the monitor beeped back to life, a shaky rhythm stuttering across the screen. Aelin exhaled the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
She turned to her resident. “Monitor her, and page me immediately if there’s a decline.” She pushed past the crash cart into the hall, exhaling another shaky breath. She leaned against the wall in the hallway, closing her eyes as her head hit the cold wall. It took her a moment to realize Rowan Whitethorn was staring at her.
“She’s not getting any better.” He said dully, the coffee cup still clenched in his hand. Aelin considered telling him that wasn’t the case, that coding was completely normal for a patient hooked up to a breathing machine, but she couldn’t find the will to lie to him.
“She’s not.” She said honestly, crossing her arms as she pushed her body off the wall. Rowan looked past her into the room, where Lyria’s heart rate had normalized again. Aelin’s resident was adding her statistics to her chart as the code team re-packed their cart.
“I heard you and Gavriel this morning. I know about the neuro check.”
Aelin cursed in her head. “I’m sorry about that,” she said sincerely. “We just didn’t want you to - “
“Worry?” Rowan laughed humorlessly. “I appreciate the thought, Doctor Galathynius, but I’m already there.”
“I know.” Aelin murmured. “I’m still sorry.”
Rowan said nothing, just sighed. The code team was leaving the room, and Aelin stepped aside, expecting Rowan to go back in. He didn’t move.
“When it comes back with no activity,” he started, his voice shaky. “And there’s no chance of recovery, I need you to tell me the truth. I know what she wants. It’s not this.” He waved a hand toward the room, and the machines keeping his wife alive. “If this would be her life…just give me what I need to sign to end it.”
Aelin nodded, the lump returning to her throat. “I’ll find you after.” She said quietly. “Do you want me to bring Gavriel?” Rowan nodded, his jaw tight, his throat bobbing. He said nothing, just walked back into the room. He sat in the chair, placing his coffee on the side table, his head dropping to his hands. Aelin blinked back the tears in her eyes. She glanced toward the nurse’s station, where the head nurse on duty was hastily wiping at her eyes with a tissue. She gave Aelin a small, sad smile, before shaking her head and turning back to her paperwork.
Aelin passed the rest of the morning in a daze. She couldn’t get the sad acceptance in Rowan Whitethorn’s eyes out of her head. She’d run into this situation in the past: family members who had to make the decision to stop life-sustaining treatment for their relatives. Aelin had felt the pain every time, the sadness sitting in her gut for the rest of the day. She’d watched her high school boyfriend’s mother make the same choice for him after a month of no improvement or brain activity following a horrific fight with the flu. Despite Gavriel’s insistence early in her career that she’d learn to not let things affect her, she knew that giving papers to family members in situations like these would never be easy for her.
And the Whitethorns, with their entire married life ahead of them cut short by a freak accident, affected her tremendously.
Mid-afternoon, Aelin stood in Lyria’s room with the neurologist. He had confirmed what she already assumed; Lyria, for all intents and purposes, was gone. She nodded, thanking him, before reaching into her jacket pocket with a shaky hand to extricate her phone. She messaged Gavriel a single word - confirmed - before taking a seat in Rowan’s chair next to Lyria’s bed.
When Rowan and Gavriel returned from the cafeteria, Aelin fixed the calmest look she could muster on her face. Rowan Whitethorn’s eyes met hers immediately, and she knew that he understood.
“Mister Whitethorn,” she said gently, standing from the chair and gesturing for him to sit. She strode to the door, closing it, before coming back into the room. Gavriel had taken the seat next to Rowan, his hand gripping his arm. “We’ve had a neurologist check Lyria’s brain activity. I’m sorry to say there is none.” She swallowed, hesitating. “I’ve gathered the paperwork you asked for.” She gestured to the table, where the small stack sat. “I’d like to go through it with you. We can do it whenever you’re ready.”
“I’m ready now.” Rowan rasped, his throat bobbing. Gavriel opened his mouth to protest, but Rowan shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. “It’s time, Gav. It’s not what she’d want.” Gavriel said nothing. “Would you - “ Rowan began, opening his eyes again. They were shining. “Would you get me a bottled water. I’m fine here with Doctor Galathynius.” Gavriel nodded, recognizing the dismissal. He glanced at Aelin, who nodded. She took the seat he’d left, reaching over to pick up the stack of paperwork from the table. Gavriel shut the door, leaving Rowan and Aelin alone.
“You’re sure about this?” Aelin asked, taking a deep breath as she asked. Rowan looked at her, his eyes piercing hers.
“You’re sure there’s no hope? No chance of some miracle?”
Aelin shook her head gently. “I’m sure. She’s….she’s gone.”
Rowan cleared his throat, turning toward the bed. “We’ve been together for ten years.” He said quietly, staring at his wife. “I waited until she was done with her masters degree to ask her to marry me. I didn’t want to add wedding planning onto her plate when she was so busy. And then,” he paused, laughing to himself. Aelin smiled involuntarily; his laugh was genuine. “Then she decided she wanted to have a small ceremony in our backyard. Just with our friends and her parents. Mine have been gone since before she and I met. And it was perfect. It was everything we wanted. And the honeymoon - “ he stopped, his voice breaking. “She’s wanted to visit the mountains ever since we got together. And we always had some reason why we couldn’t go. We were always too busy. I can’t even remember what we were busy with.” He stopped, pulling his eyes from her bed to rest on Aelin.
“Thank you, Doctor Galathynius, for your honesty. Gavriel has wanted to keep me upbeat, but you…” he trailed off. “You’ve kept me sane by telling me how it is.”
She nodded once, reaching over to lay a hand on his arm. “It was my pleasure,” she said quietly, aware that her guise of professionalism had slipped completely as her eyes filled with tears. “I’m so sorry this happened.”
He nodded, saying nothing, as he looked at the papers resting in her lap. “I’m ready.”
***
Four years later; make some sense of what you’ve seen
“You do know what this means, don’t you?” Rowan asked solemnly, a beer bottle gripped in his hand as he regarded his friend. Gavriel shook his head, one eyebrow raised. “You, my friend, are old as fuck.”
Gavriel barked a laugh, clapping Rowan on the arm. “You’re not wrong. That means you’re old, too”
“Not as old as you, remember?”
Gavriel laughed to himself, rolling his eyes. His friends never missed an opportunity to remind him that his late life decision to go to medical school - making him a 30 year old undergrad -  made him the eldest member of their circle. Rowan chuckled again, surveying Gavriel’s apartment. He’d been appointed Chief of Surgery, and his son, Aedion, had thrown him a party to celebrate. The apartment was crammed with Gavriel’s friends - Rowan included - and several members of the hospital staff.
A flash of gold distracted Rowan, and he frowned, leaning to follow it. “Was that - Doctor Galathynius?”
Gavriel nodded slowly. “She and Aedion are cousins,” he explained carefully. “She still works at the hospital.”
“Maybe I’ll catch her later,” Rowan remarked, swigging the rest of his beer in one gulp. Gavriel looked at him skeptically, but Rowan said nothing, just pulled the empty beer bottle from its koozie, before turning to search for another. Gavriel watched him go, worry swirling in his gut. He wasn’t sure how Rowan would feel, seeing his late wife’s doctor for the first time since her death. Before he could dwell on it too much, Lorcan was in front of him, offering him a shot. Once he’d taken it, Gavriel looked again for Rowan, but he’d disappeared somewhere in the apartment.
Across the room, Rowan pulled another bottle of beer from the cooler, stuffing it into his koozie, before wandering toward the hall he’d seen Doctor Galathynius disappear down. It wasn’t a large apartment, and therefore didn’t take long to find her in the spare bedroom, gathering her coat and bag. He wasn’t sure if it was the number of beers he’d had, but Rowan suddenly felt many emotions at once.
“Hiding?”
She jumped, spinning to face him. Color flooded her cheeks. “Mister Whitethorn,” she said hastily, slipping her left arm into her jacket. “It’s so nice to see you.”
“It’s nice to see you too,” he said honestly, leaning against the doorframe. “So, are you?”
Aelin stopped. “What?”
“Hiding.”
“No, just leaving. I have an early surgery tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow is Sunday.”
“There are surgeries on Sundays.”
Rowan chuckled. “Whatever you say.”
Aelin’s gaze dropped to the floor as she struggled to put her right arm into her jacket. The sleeve was inside out. Rowan placed his beer on the table by the door, moving into the room to help her.
“Here,” he said, extricating the sleeve from inside of itself. Aelin nodded her thanks, her eyes still trained on the floor. Rowan frowned. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly. He quirked a brow.
“Gavriel thinks me seeing you would be too difficult, given how I know you. Is that what you think, too?”
Aelin blinked, looking up from the floor. Rowan’s eyes - which had been filled with such grief when she’d last seen him four years previously - were bright. Playful, even.
“He said that?”
“He didn’t have to.” Rowan deadpanned, rolling his eyes skyward. “He’s an open book.”
Aelin laughed involuntarily. “That is what I thought,” she admitted. “I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable, so I figured I’d just leave.”
“That’s very kind of you.” Rowan said seriously, perching himself on the edge of the guest bed. “But I’m okay. Really.” He affirmed, at Aelin’s look of doubt. She said nothing. Rowan reached over to grab his beer, taking a sip of it. “I never really thanked you,” he said after a moment.
“I was just doing - “
“Your job?” Rowan interrupted, raising a skeptical brow at her. “I’m going to tell you a secret, Doc. There was a mirror across from the doorway in the ICU room.”
Aelin was confused for a moment, before realization dawned on her. “So you could see…” she trailed off, her face coloring. She dropped onto the other end of the spare bed. Rowan laughed at her obvious horror.
“You standing in the doorway every other hour? Yes.”
Aelin looked back at the floor. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, her face still burning. “That was…so unprofessional.”
“It was comforting to you know that you were pulling for us.” Rowan said quietly, all traces of laughter gone from his face. “I knew you had other patients and other things to do, but you checked in on Lyria, and on me - “ He paused, rubbing at the sudden tears in his eyes. “I just, appreciated it. Knowing you were there, and that you cared in more than just the sense of being her doctor…it mattered a lot. So thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Aelin said quietly, clearing her throat. She’d had countless patients since Lyria, but even after four years, the memory of the newlyweds still affected her. “I’ve asked Gavriel about you, over the years.” She admitted, looking back up at him. He smiled gently. “I…hoped you’d be okay.”
“Therapy, Doctor Galathynius.” Rowan said seriously, before breaking out into a laugh. “It’s really the miracle drug.”
“Aelin,”
“I know.” Rowan said, winking at her. “I didn’t want to make it weird, but I know.”
Aelin smiled at him, her eyes searching his. They were clear. Expectant.
“What do you say?” Rowan said lightly, standing from the bed and holding out his hand. “Should we get back to the party? I’m sure your fake surgery will be fine tomorrow morning.”
Aelin laughed, smacking at his hand. She stood, shrugging off her jacket and throwing her purse back onto the bed. She looked up at Rowan, blue meeting green.
“Lead the way.”
**
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crowdedimagines · 4 years
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Happy To Help - David Dobrik
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“Baby, what’s wrong?” I ask, sitting up in our bed. David came in with a serious look on his face. One that I don’t see very often. Definitely not this early on a Sunday morning, it’s still early and quiet. The only reason he got out of bed was his mom calling his phone.
“My dad threw out his back really badly and he needs surgery.” He walks over to sit on the edge of the bed.
“Is he okay?” I ask tentatively.
“Yeah, he’s claiming he’s fine but my mom said he can’t even move. He’s in a lot of pain.” David wipes at his face, “Fuck.”
“How can I help?” I take his hand in mine and try to get him to focus, “Should we fly out to help out? If he needs surgery he’s going to be in the hospital for a while.”
He nods and leans into my touch. I pull him back to lay on top of me on our bed. He worries about his family all the time, this is like a nightmare for him.
“I’m gonna call Jack.” He announces.
He grabs his phone and calls his manager to inform him of what happened. I tune out most of what he says as I grab a bag for each of us. I start packing my own things so we can leave as soon as he needs to.
“Are you serious?” David’s voice suddenly pulls me from my thoughts. He’s sitting on the Lovesac with his phone on speaker.
“I can try to get you out of that shoot David, but they're just going to cut you out and move on with someone else. The only real issue with it is that filming for Dodgeball Thunderdome starts this week. We’ve signed a lot of contracts, I can try to get you out of them but I know how excited you were about hosting this show.”
“Fuck.” He mutters softly. “I need to be in Vernon hills by tonight. My parents are going to in to Chicago for surgery so someone needs to stay at the house. Plus once they get back they’ll need help.”
“I totally get that David.” Jack agrees, “I just want you to know the gravity of you leaving this week. The position you’re putting in those you work with. I just worry about your reputation a little and if they’ll be willing to postpone for you.”
“I’ll go.” I cut in. There’s no need for David to give up something he’s worked so hard for and he loves so much. He’s one of the hardest working people I know and he deserves everything that he’s earned.
“What?” David’s head snaps in my direction.
“You stay here, get everything done that you need to. I’ll fly out and help with the girls and Toby. Then I’ll be there when your parents get home to help. You can fly out once you’re done with everything or you get a break.” I shrug.
“Jack, let me call you back.” He hangs up the phone and gets up from his seat. He walks over to grab my hand and fully pull my attention from the clothes I had been folding, “Are you serious right now? You would do that for me?”
“Of course I would.” I smile, his arms wrap around my waist so mine settle over his shoulder, connecting at the back of his neck, “I would do anything for you, and your family. This is not a big deal, and it would make me happy to help. Plus then you don’t have to give up hosting your show. You’ve been excited about this for months.”
“I love you so much.” He sighs, pulling me in tight against his chest.
“You’re alright.” I tease, earning a laugh from him.
David insists on paying for my flight and driving me to the airport.
“Okay, my parents are waiting to leave once you get there. I already set up a rental car for you, so then you’ll have one the whole time you’re there.”
“Thank you, babe.” I press a kiss to his lips.
We get out of the car and David pulls my suitcase from the trunk.
“I cannot thank you enough for this.” He wraps his arms around my waist.
“I don’t need a thank you.” I shake my head, “One more kiss will do, though.”
David happily obliges, leaning in and pressing a kiss that lasted longer than all the others.
“Call me when you land.”
“Of course.”
I start to walk away, knowing that we could be saying our goodbyes for the next half hour if I don’t.
“I love you.” “I love you too.”
The flight is fairly uneventful and quiet, I try to sleep on the way to just be fully rested. Once I land I go find the car rental place and David (Natalie) had set everything up in advance so there wasn’t much waiting there either. I text Ester to let her know that I am on my way, she is definitely the Dobrik I talk to the most, other than David obviously. I make the drive to the Vernon Hills home, I call David on the way to talk for a while and let him know that I landed safely.
I park on the road so I don’t block in their car in the driveway and take my suitcase from the trunk. Toby greets me before I can even make it to the door, pulling me in for a hug. He holds open the door for me and I am greeted by the whole Dobrik family.
Palo is laying on the couch, in obvious discomfort. I send him a smile and say hello. I notice that they’re already packed up with everything they’ll need for the week.
“Thank you for being so kind.” Cristina sighs pulling me in for another hug.
“I am happy to help in any way I can.” I smile, “Please let me know if you need anything else, honestly, anything you guys need.”
We talk for a little while before they leave so they can check in. It’s over an hour drive to the hospital they’re doing it at so they leave now.
“Alright, now it’s just us.” I laugh, we’ve all already eaten dinner so we all sit down in the living room to watch a movie. We don’t stay up late, all three of them have school tomorrow. Ester stays up a little later, she talks to me about school, boys, and drama.
After we both say goodnight I make my way up to David’s room. It’s always been the room I stay in with David, but I’ve never been here without him.
“I’m laying in your childhood bed right now.”
“Why do you make that sound so sexy.” He laughs, “It’s kind of turning me on.”
“Gross.” I laugh loudly.
“How’s everything going?” He asks.
“So far it’s fine. Your dad looked like he really needed to get out of the house tonight and get checked in so I’m glad I flew in tonight instead of tomorrow morning.”
“Me too.” He sighs, “I can never thank you enough for this.”
“You don’t need to thank me, isn’t that what girlfriends are for?” I laugh.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a girlfriend do something like this for me before.”
“I guess I’m pretty special then.” I grin, turning on my side. It’s not very often that I sleep by myself now that David and I live together, but it’s comforting to hear his voice.
“That you are.”
I don’t remember saying goodnight to David, but at some point I must’ve fallen asleep. I wake up when my alarm goes off, notifying me that I need to get ready so I can get everyone else ready and drive them all to school.
“Good morning.” I smile seeing Sara and Ester come down the stairs.
They sit down for a bowl of cereal, eventually Toby comes down, his hair angled in fifty different directions, reminding me of his older brother.
“Alright, everyone’s ready for school?”
Everyone piles in the car and we leave. I drop off Toby first, seeing as his school day starts earlier than the girls. I drop off Sara next, leaving only Ester and I in the car.
“What’s so funny?” Ester grins, glancing at me from the passenger seat.
“I never thought that I would be a soccer mom at twenty-two. It’s a little odd dropping kids off at school.”
“Whatever.” She bumps my shoulder lightly, “You’re not a mom. Yet.”
“Yet?” I raise my brows, looking over at her amused. David and I have never talked about kids, even though it's known that we both want them, just not any time soon.
“You and David will be married any day now. And the way David talks about you guys on the podcast, it doesn’t seem like you guys are staying celebete.”
My face takes on a red tint. I’ve never been a shy girl, but I was not expecting this to be our car ride conversation. Ester is old enough to not be phased by talking about sex, we’ve been having boy talk for practially as long as David and I have been dating. I’ve talked about worse, but I’ve never gone into details when it pertained to her brother.
“Oh my god, shut up!” I laugh.
“What we always talk about boys!” She grins.
“Well, it’s definitely different when my boy is your brother.”
“Yeah, that’s not the greatest, but I like talking to you. You give off older sister vibes.”
“Thanks. Now get out of the car.” I smirk, teasing her. We’re pulled up in front of her school, the same school David went to high school.
“Thanks for the ride.”
“Anytime!” I manage to pull out before many fans take notice. Thankfully, I’m not David, but still we could easily form a crowd if I stayed for too long.
It takes a few more days to fall into a good rhythm with everything. Between the kids homework, making meals, cleaning, and just trying to keep everything organized for when David’s parents come back it's been an exhausting yet rewarding week. Palo’s surgery was today, it went well. He only needs a few days in recovery before he can come home.
“Y/n, David’s asking for you.” Ester comes down the stairs, phone in hand.
“Babe, you didn’t answer your phone!” He yells through the phone.
Ester holds out her phone so I can see him on facetime.
“Sorry, Sara and I are painting our nails!” I hold up a hand as proof and he nods.
“So, how’s everything going?”
“It’s good babe, it’s actually been a pretty fun week.” I smile, “I’m starting to like your siblings more than I like you.”
“And we definitely like Y/n more than you!” Toby teases leaning into frame.
“Fuck you guys.” He laughs.
“So how’s filming been? I saw your story! Very fancy them giving you someone to follow you around with an umbrella.”
“It’s been fun. I forgot just how good it feels to be working! Do you have any idea when you’re coming back?”
I shake my head, “No, your parents are coming home in three days and I’ll talk to them and go from there. Are you still planning on staying in L.A?”
“Yeah, my mom insisted I stay here. She already feels guilty enough making you fly out, but we’ll see.”
“Okay, keep me posted. Love you.”
“Love you more.”
Ester takes her phone back and continues talking with David.
“I like the color you picked better.” Sara comments, noticing the light color I’ve picked for my nails.
“Wanna trade?”
“What? We already painted one of our hands.” She looks up at me confused.
“So what! It’ll be different. Then we kind of match.”
Sara and I finish up our nails. We all call Palo and Cristina, our nightly ritual to say good night to everyone. Everyone goes to bed, I stay up a little later so I can clean up the dishes from dinner and the nail polish that we left on the counter.
The rest of the week passes by without any hiccups. There’s a few times I can tell Toby really misses his parents, but other than that everything’s been a breeze. More than that actually, I feel closer to all of them. I was nervous to come, even though I would never tell David that. I was afraid to step in and try to help when I have no clue what I’m doing, but it went better than I could imagine.
“Are you absolutely sure?” I ask, “I don’t mind staying longer at all!”
“No!” Cristina insists, “We are fine, Palo is feeling fine now that he’s been back at home for a few days. We will be okay.”
She places a reassuring hand on my arm and I simply smile.
“Only if you’re one hundred percent sure.”
“I already told David to book you another flight.”
I thank her and go upstairs so I can pack up all of my belongings. I ended up spending ten days in Chicago, but it was alright. I had fun, and it felt good to be needed.
“Okay, I think I’m all packed up.” I bring my suitcase to the bottom of the stairs and smile at the family in the living room. I get hugs from everyone, and several thank yous. Too many if you ask me.
“I’m going to walk Y/n out to her car.” Ester grabs one of my other bags to walk with me.
“Me too!” Sara tags along.
You could never get me to wipe off the grin watching those two girls bound away with my stuff.
“The ride to school is going to seem boring now.” Ester sighs.
“I’m sure you’ll manage.” I grin.
“Yeah, but mom doesn’t talk about weed or hooking up at parties.”
“Shh!” I clamp a hand over her mouth, “And if anyone asks I don’t talk about that stuff either!”
I give them each another hug and start to get back in the car.
“Y/n, will you call me tonight? Like once you’re back home and settled.”
“Yeah, is everything okay?” I raise my brows.
“No, I just have something I want to talk to you about. You’ll get it, it’s fine!”
“Okay, weirdo!” I laugh shutting my door. I back down the driveway and notice that all of the Dobriks are out on the front porch now waving. I wave back with a smile and drive back to Chicago to finally head home.
“Baby, I’m home!” I yell, letting myself in our front door. The goal was to surprise him, he didn’t know that my flight landed early, causing me to get the jump on him.
“Y/n?” He yells back loudly. I drop my bags and round the corner to see him coming to find me.
“Baby!” He instantly pulls me into his arms, “God, I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” I sigh, pulling him in a little tighter.
After a good long cuddle in our bed it’s nice to just settle in again. It’s nice to see Natalie and Ilya too. I wasn’t that long, but I was weird to be apart from the whole group for that long. We purge on a large dinner ordered in, after stuffing our faces, David and I settle on the hammock outside together. The sun is setting slowly, letting the sky take on a pink hue.
“I can never thank you enough for what you did.”
“David, you have to stop thanking me.” I sigh, letting him twist and play with my fingers.
“Y/n.” He says my name softly.
“Hmm?” I turn to look at him, he has a surprisingly serious look on his face.
“We just moved in together. I’ve never done that with a girl, I thought that I would be afraid to do it, but with you I am not afraid of the future anymore. The only thing that scares me is a future without you, as cheesy as that sounds. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, more than anything.”
He reaches into his back pocket and I can feel a smile growing on my face. He opens up the black velvet box to reveal a beautiful ring with a large diamond sitting front and center.
“I bought this ring after you left for Chicago. I knew that I wanted to marry you before that, but right then and there I decided that I needed to lock you down.” He pauses to laugh a little, I join in too, “I needed to make if official. Make it real, because I don’t want to waste anymore time as your boyfriend. You treat my family like your own, and I want to make you mine. Forever. Y/n, will you marry me?”
“Of course!” I sigh, no longer fighting the teary eyes. I pull David in for a long sweet kiss. We pull apart laughing, he slides the ring on my finger and I smile even wider.
“Baby, it’s perfect.”
“Ester helped me pick it.” He grins, pressing several more kisses to my temple.
“She did? Of course she did. Well you both did a great job.”
“I’ll be right back, I got us champagne!” He climbs out of the hammock carefully. I smile softly watching him walk away. I pull out my phone to call the girl herself.
“Hello?” She answers almost instantly.
“You picked out a stunning ring.”
“You said yes?” She shrieks.
“Well, duh!” I laugh.
“Yay, oh my god. I love this! She said yes!” She yells loudly to I’m sure the whole family.
“Did everyone know?” I ask, sitting up a little more.
“Yeah, he’s been too excited to keep it to himself. Told everyone in L.A and of course he told us. I think everyone knew but you.”
“Sneaky boy.” I roll my eyes. David makes his way back outside, two glasses in one hand the bottle in the other. The same smile stuck on his face.
“Hey, who are you talking to already?” He rejoins me.
“Your sister. I promised her I would call.”
I put the phone on speaker so David can hear too. We talk with Ester and everyone else in the family for a while. It feels comfortable. We spend the rest of the night snuggled up together, even as it gets colder.
Natalie took a video, which I was completely oblivious to. We also got some really cute pictures, which David proudly sends to the group chat, informing everyone who he had gushed to that I had in fact said yes. It was a steady stream of congratulations.
“Ready to go inside?”
“Mhm” I sigh dreamily looking down at the new piece of jewelry on my hand.
“C’mon, it’ll still be there in the morning.”
an// this was some CUTE fluff!! Also what is David’s mom’s name? I wrote this and then I couldn’t remember if it was right so i went to look it up and i can’t even find it. so if anyone knows, cool! lol
what did you guys think?!?!
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berrynarrybanana · 4 years
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happy with you | H.S
A/N: For my darling wife @bfharry . I sincerely apologize for being late and I’m sorry this is so shit but I am stuck in a cabin in the mountains with terrible service and a horrible WiFi connection. I cranked this piece out earlier this morning for the #boyfriendathon fic challenge and I hope that everyone enjoys. Thank you to Olivia for putting this lovely challenge together. You’re aces babe and I love you!!!😘
P.S I did not edit but I probably will later!
It was juvenile really. 
After six months of dating and two months of living together through a pandemic, it was bound to happen at some point. Living together was a lot of fun at first. It almost felt like playing house at first, every day filled with fun activities and countless kisses stolen from each other. Every morning you would wake up together before spending a little too much time kissing on each other in bed. Occasionally, the odd blowjob or facesitting excursion would get in the way of starting your work day, but you really didn’t mind. From there, you would both wander into the kitchen for tea(him) and coffee (you) before starting breakfast together. 
Harry was a master chef, taking care of each and every minuscule detail as if it were surgery and someone’s life depended on it. You always sat back, clicking away at your keyboard until all of your work emails were sorted and answered. When breakfast was fixed, the two of you snuggled up in his breakfast nook while eating and talking softly. From there, your day consisted of buzzing around each other while you both tried to work without getting in each other’s way. 
But it was bound to happen. 
“You deleted my entire proposal, Harry!” The tone of your voice was harsh, a sarcastic laugh following your words. “What the fuck am I supposed to do now? It’s going to take me hours to retype that whole thing and it’s due in twenty minutes.” 
“It’s not like I meant to do it!” He tossed his hands up, exasperated and frustrated by your snippy tone. He had already apologized for it a million times. “Bloody christ, you’ve got such a temper! I can’t undo it, so why are ya still yellin’ at me!” 
“Because I’m so frustrated and at this point, I’m tired of seeing your fucking face!” It was out of your mouth before you could take it back. Your feet stomped along the tiles of the kitchen floor for a brief second before you were being pulled back into Harry’s chest. “Let me go!” 
“You’re tired of seeing my face?” Harry sneered, his eyes growing dark as his face turned the perfect shade of red. “Then maybe you should go home.” 
He released you then, stalking off somewhere until you heard a slamming door echo throughout the house. The sound flipped a switch inside of your brain, tears welling up in your eyes as you realized you overreacted just a little. You stood in his kitchen, sobbing as you tried to calm yourself down. You didn’t mean it and neither did he, but you were devastated that you upset him so much that he wanted you to go home. When you were done wiping at the tears on your cheeks, you sat down on the barstool at his kitchen island.
After a quick email to your boss, explaining why your proposal wasn’t sent and that you needed the rest of the day, you set off for Harry’s bedroom. The door slamming definitely came from downstairs and you assumed that meant he was either in his studio or he went for the pool house. You decided to give him his space as you crawled into his massive bed, resting your head on his pillow with a heavy heart and tired eyes. Maybe it was too soon for you to be living together like this? You loved Harry and you wanted your relationship to go the distance. But maybe things were moving too fast for you to handle. Squeezing your eyes shut, you tried to fight off another wave of tears that were building up behind your waterline. 
“Darling?” Harry’s voice startled you, his presence a lot closer than you expected when you opened your eyes. “You alright?” 
“No.” You whimpered, your lower lip shaking a little as you shook your head. “I’m sorry I was such a bitch.” 
“Hey now,” He tutted, climbing under the covers before he wrapped his arms around your body. “I don’t want to hear you say that again. You weren’t being a bitch, you were just upset. S’perfectly normal and I’m not upset with you.” 
“I didn’t mean what I said.” You cried into his shoulder, tucking your arms around his body as he cooed softly. “I love your face and I want to see it all the time.” 
“I know, darling.” He let out a soft chuckle, brushing a hand over the back of your head as his lips pressed over your forehead. “I know you didn’t mean it.” 
“I love being here with you and I really don’t want to go anywhere….but I’m scared.” You confessed, tilting your head back as you sniffled. Harry’s brows furrowed in confusion as he looked at you. He lifted his hand, pulling the sleeve of his hoodie over his finger before he wiped under your nose. “Gross.” 
“You were dripping.” He chuckled. “Why are you scared, love?” 
“Because this is all so soon.” You cleared your throat. “I don’t want us to fall apart before we even have the chance to start and I’m afraid living together is putting a strain on us.” 
“All because of one fight?” He said. “We’re going to fight, darling. It would happen even if we were living separately, I know it would. It’s only natural to disagree with each other or to be upset when something happens. We’re only human.” 
“So you don’t want me to go?” You asked. 
“No, I really don’t.” He confessed. “And I’m honestly surprised we’ve made it this far without going for each other’s throats. Think we beat Mitch and Sarah out on that one.” 
“Those two are so zen.” Your eyes widened. “They’ve been fighting.” 
“Sarah’s drumming is very disturbing to Mitch’s writing process and she doesn’t like the way he eats pasta.” Harry rolled his eyes. “We’re going to be fine, love. But if you really want some time alone or you’re thinking about going back-” 
“I don’t want to go anywhere.” You whispered. “I want to stay right here with you.” 
“I wouldn’t be upset if you wanted to go home.” He said softly, pressing his forehead against yours. “I want you to be happy.” 
“I’m happy with you.” With a soft kiss to the tip of his nose, you knew that everything would be okay. “But I really do have to say, Sarah has a point with that pasta thing. You know you slurp when you eat spaghetti-” 
“Oi! I do not slurp!” He cried out, pulling back to look down at you. “You cheat at Scrabble!” 
“I do not!” You laughed, shocked by his accusation. 
“Why are you always on your phone then!” A smug smirk settled over his lips as your cheeks grew warm. “I knew it!” 
“I don’t always know how to spell the words I’m thinking of!” You groaned, tucking your head into the crook of his neck. 
“Well, if we’re going on about things we dislike,” He started. “Let me say a few things about you that I love.” 
“Do tell.” You grumbled. 
“I love when you’re sleepy because it’s almost like seeing you drunk. You stumble around and you forget what you’re saying in the middle of a sentence. I love when you’re snuggling up to my side even though we haven’t left each other alone for the entire day. It’s like you’re still happy to see me...to be with me even though we’ve been together for months now.” 
“I am.” You whispered. “I love how thoughtful you are. Like, when you get out of the shower you leave the water running because you know I want to hop in before I get too cold. And I love the way you sing under your breath all the time, even when you don’t notice you’re doing it!” 
“I do that a lot?” He asked, a soft chuckle escaping him as you nodded. “You know what else I love?” 
“What?” You tilted your head back, looking into his eyes as he smiled. 
“You.” 
It felt as though the world stopped spinning. 
It felt as though you were the only two left in the world and that nothing else mattered because Harry loved you. Like earlier, your eyes began to water with emotion and your heart was pounding hard against your ribcage. You felt so full and warm and happy and loved. Surging forward, you pressed your lips to his with a wet giggle. He was quick to accept your sappy and tearful kiss, molding his lips with yours in a perfect rhythm. When you realized you hadn’t said it back to him, you pulled away with a quick gasp. Harry's lips trailed over your cheek as you spoke. 
“I love you, too.” 
And despite the annoying things about your boyfriend that got on your nerves, you really did love him with your whole heart. 
That alone was enough to ensure you that everything would be okay. 
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